Districtvision
by merciki
Summary: In Panem, there is a 60 years old tradition, bringing back all the districts together for one evening of singing. it's called Districtvision. This year's candidates for D12 are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. A thing though. They hate each other.
1. Semi Final 1

Seven days.

One hundred and sixty eight hours.

She could do it.

Right?  
Right.

They would be done after they lost the Districtvision Song Contest.

* * *

Tuesday May, 10th. 5 Days before the show.

"Katniss, wake up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!"

Effie Trinket, also known as Peeta and Katniss's unofficial nanny/personal assistant/chaperone/pain in the ass, woke her up that fateful Tuesday morning of the first Districtvision semi final.

They didn't even have to perform that night, their district being one of the "Big Four" automatically allowed into the final of the song contest. But they both would have to be there, dress up, smile, chat with the journalists and pretend to be friends ("hint at more than friends if possible" their manager had repeated time and time again), and really, really enjoy themselves while watching other districts perform whatever stupid song they were given that year.

That Tuesday morning though, Katniss really didn't want to get out of bed. The good thing in all this mess was the hotel room she was staying in, so comfortable she was really thinking of stealing the bed and quilts for her own little apartment in Panem where she lived with her mother and sister. That was really the plus of this arrangement, and she would take everything she could for her remaining time in the spotlight.

She didn't want to face the same questions from the journalists, have to repeat the same answers, again and again. Yes, they've known each other for years, having come from the same small town of D12. Yes, they were friends, and not lovers, thank you very much. Of course friendship was possible between a man and a woman. Oh, they enjoyed talking and going to the movies, things like that. His favorite color was orange, no, not like a cone, rather like the sunset. Yes he knew hers is green. He takes his tea without sugar, whereas she has always been a coffee addict.

Things like that, they rehearsed over and over again with their manager, perfecting their stories with enough real details to make it believable, even to their friends home.

Because despite the image thrown in the papers, in the press and on TV, Peeta Mellark, former leader of the group "Rebels" and Katniss Everdeen, indie folk singer, were anything but friends. In fact, they were close to hating each other.

But as Haymitch Abernathy, their mentor, had told them over and over again, "Districtvision is only a television show" in which they had to participate, to wear the colors of their district. Yay.

"Katniss! You have to wake up! Breakfast will be served and Peeta is already waiting for you!"

As if the thought of Peeta waiting for her would make her jump out of bed, dress up and get ready. If Katniss needed a motivation to stay exactly where she was, Effie's words were what was required.

Alas, the bubbly chaperone wasn't in on the charade of the true nature of her relationship with Peeta, leaving Katniss with no choice but to actually pretend to be happy to see him. He had blue eyes she knew were real because he had the same in kindergarten, his blonde hair that always had this out-of-bed look girls drooled over, and his jaw fans were fainting over. Because, apparently, most women found Peeta Mellark attractive

Whatever. She wasn't one of them.

Reluctantly, she left the warmth of the quilt, the comfort of the pillow mumbling a version of "I'll be right there" to the door, loud enough to satisfy Effie, before going to shower. She would have to worry about what to wear later, and that was a problem she didn't want to think about. Because apparently, in the world of Districtvision, old jeans and a tank top weren't fashionable enough.

To be completely honest, Katniss feared this day more than the show that would take place on Saturday. Singing, she knew she could do. But parading in a crazy uniform pretending to be happy with it, that wasn't on her talent palette. And yes, she saw last year's District 12 outfit - it seemed carved in aluminum, giving the band the strange look of robots, 50s style. With purple jackets.

Having seen the rehearsals she knew some groups were terrible, clothing wise. District 47, from a country whose name she couldn't remember, musicians dressed in space blankets - yes, space blankets, under which was a horrible false-leather outfit that made them look like Xena, the Warrior Princess. She didn't want to think about the singers, him in a Count Dracula-like outfit, and the woman, clad in a two-sizes too small red and burgundy dress, showing cleavage down to her navel. It didn't make up for the horrible song and lack of rhythm of the presentation. She had to really bit her lip hard not to laugh.

She might have noticed Peeta did the same.

"Anyways" she sighed, exiting the bathroom, clad in her underwear. "What will His Highness the King of Pop have on today?" Somehow, Portia and Cinna, their designated stylists for this contest, had made both of them a complete wardrobe, fitted for all occasions, each outfit matching the other's. Like a team.

Or something.

She grabbed a pair of dark jeans (how rebellious of her) and an ivory blouse, knowing fully well that by the end of the day she would have been primped, complete with make-up and her braid done, clothed in whatever they had decided.

Sighing heavily, she put on her sneakers and grabbed her jacket on her way out, because there was no way she was showing _him_ more skin that he needed to see. Provided he needed to see any of her skin at all.

She followed the yellow corridor to the little ensuite living-room where the three others waited for her before heading downstairs to the huge dining room where many of the contestants were with their entourage.

"And here she comes!" their manager, said, hiding his flask in the inner pocket of his jacket. As if it was a secret that he was a drunk, mentoring one generation of singers after another - the last success of District 12 in the contest was back in 1976, eons ago. "We almost waited for you!" he added, obviously checking his watch.

"Hey Katniss!" Peeta greeted her, cheery as always, even with his frozen smile on, the one he reserved for her only.

"Well, well, well. I thought you would wear something more … feminine, Katniss dear!" Effie chimed in, having checked her from head to toe, clearly disapproving her look.

"She doesn't need to dress up to be feminine, Effie."

Wait? What? Katniss's brain went on overdrive at Peeta's words. Was he complimenting her? Until it clicked - this was part of the show, the charade they were playing even in front of Effie. She took a small breath, counted to five in her head - yes, she could be an adult - before giving her own fake smile to her partner.

"Thank you, Peeta. I'm sorry I'm late, I wanted to get as much rest as possible." She didn't add that she wanted to stay away from him as long as possible, but work's work, right? Five more days until they could part, go on their merry ways, never to talk to the other again. Ever.

"So now that Sweetheart's here, can we head down? Some of us are hungry!" Haymitch rose from the couch he was lying on, trying to straighten his wrinkled suit before heading straight to the door, closely followed by Effie, on her very high pink glittery heels.

"How can she walk on those?" she heard Peeta ask as he watched her leave, never losing her balance on such precarious shoes.

"I have no clue, I just hope they don't put me in that kind of thing Saturday." Katniss muttered under her breath, hoping she wasn't loud enough to be heard by him.

"I won't let you fall, you know that?"

She didn't know.

"Why?" she asked, surprised.

"Why what?"

"Why wouldn't you let me fall?"

"That's not what we do. We should protect each other. We're a team, right?" Peeta had turned to look at her, a question in his eyes.

"Are we really? Aren't you here to restart your career?"

"Is that what you think Katniss? That I'm only here to boost my career?"

"Well, why else would you come?"

"To help yours, maybe? Now, shall we?" He was now holding the door open for her, as she remained frozen, struck by his words.

"Katniss, we have to go, or else they will start to wonder where we are."

"You're really not doing this for you?" Katniss asked, not bothering to hide the disbelief in her voice.

"You can ask Haymitch. I'm quitting show business when this is over." Peeta's voice was definitive.

"Really?" What was he doing here, then?

"My Swan Song?" He smirked.

Yup she had said it out loud. "But why?"

"There are things I'm better at than singing. I have enough money for a lifetime, now I want to do what I want," he answered simply.

He looked at his watch before running his hand through his blonde hair. "Look, we can talk about it later today if you want? We have to go now, or Effie will go mad at how not on schedule we are…"

Too many thoughts were in her mind right now for Katniss to be able to sort them all. She would need time and coffee to process all he had told her over the span of five minutes.

"Right. Okay. Yeah. We'll do that." She was so articulate she thought, internally sighing, wondering sometimes how in hell she could actually write songs.

She nodded, finally moving to join him on the doorstep of their ensuite, her mind still full of confused thoughts about what Peeta had just told her - only to feel his hand on the small of her back, like he almost always did when they walked side by side.

Only this time, his hand wasn't as unwelcome.

The day went by as any other one in the whirlwind of Districtvision. Phone interviews with radios stations at home, asking for their prediction on the upcoming semi-finals, who their biggest adversaries would be, when they would rehearse, how confident they were for the win. Apparently, their odds bookmaker-wise were more than good, the media displaying pictures of them together, photoshoots wisely organized by Effie and her team to show their friendship, all the while hinting at a bit more - the bit they kept on denying day after day, saying they were "just friends".

As if.

One question took Katniss by surprise, during the recording of a TV interview, when a crazy journalist asked them what their ringtones for each other were. How could she tell this guy she didn't even have Peeta's phone number without blowing their charade?

But Peeta had an answer to everything, apparently, even to this question. "Oh, it's a stupid thing, really." She looked at him, question on her mind, eyes wide opened in surprise at his apparent answer, before being able to pull herself together, stealing a glance at the journalist who luckily was focused on Peeta. "We had a joke about this, telling ourselves we would find the craziest Districtvision music for each other. So Katniss's ringtone is The Penguin Song and I'm pretty sure I am the hard-rock music of 2007? Unless you changed it?" She could have kissed him right now, giving her the perfect answer.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She smiled, following his lead, but falling into the trap she opened herself.

"Well, Peeta, maybe you could call Katniss, so we would know?" the journalist asked, jumping in.

Damn him. Damn clever guys.

"We can't, Claudius." Again, Peeta came to the rescue. "Effie took our phones!"

"That's too bad!"

"Right? But I'll tell you as soon as I find out. Deal?"

"Deal! Thank you Katniss, thank you Peeta, for taking the time to answer our questions".

"You're welcome, Claudius."

Peeta rose from his seat to shake the journalist's hand, Katniss following suit, smiling her best at the guy, whose hand felt sleazy and oily in hers, resisting the urge to wipe her own on her jeans. She could hang on for a little bit now, his was the last interviewer of the day. Soon, they would get a complete hour of nothing to do before being rushed off to be groomed again for the first semi-final.

Katniss felt her simple life had turned into a whirlwind of makeup, costumes, interviews and enough smiles for a lifetime. And she couldn't say she liked it.

Right now, she was looking forward to a full hour of not doing anything, of relaxing on her comfy bed, and maybe catch up with Prim if she was home from school.

She made sure Temple-something was out of the room before she grabbed her bottle of water, took off her heels to give her feet a well deserved rest and headed towards the doors of the room, intent on enjoying her hour of rest. Alone.

"Um, Katniss?"

She closed her eyes at her partner's voice, hoping it wouldn't be what she feared he wanted to talk about.

"We should talk, maybe?"

Here's to hoping. She closed her eyes, taking a small deep breath.

"Yeah, maybe."

"You know where we could go?"

He's asking her? She hadn't been out of the hotel since they arrived, as paparazzi were lining the entrances to get the best shot at whoever was coming in or out - it felt safer to stay inside. The only time they were out was on photo shoots or when they were needed to film the short presentation that would come just before their number on stage.

"I have no clue … your room or mine?"

She saw him blush at her words, wondering why it would make him react this way until it clicked in her brain.

"Well, maybe not, we don't want to sell that idea, right?" Peeta finally said.

"Haymitch would love this."

"Would you?"

She wanted to scream a resounding "No", but was too afraid to actually do it, in fear some security men would come into the ensuite.

"Guess that answers that." He replied, a small smile on his lips. "Wanna sneak out of here?"

"And how would we do that with all the paps outside? Do you know how to fly?"

"No. I was a wrestler, don't you remember? But we can trick them."

"So you turned into David Copperfield too?"

"Too? What do you mean?"

"Nothing, Mellark, nothing. So, how do we go out?"

He frowned, creasing his forehead as he answered.

"We throw them a bone."

"And how would we do that?"

Peeta chuckled.

"We we'll need reinforcements."

They were still laughing as they sat on a bench in the park on the other side of the Bellevue hotel Entrance.

"I can't believe you know Finnick Odair!"

"Perks of being in the business. God, he was better than I thought ."

Odair was the Districtvision Song Contest international star who was asked to sing his new hit on the show, and somehow Peeta had his number. Having him come to the hotel to distract the paps only took a phone call.

They didn't expect Finnick to get out of the limo shirtless, his upper body glittering in the afternoon sun.

Which did distract the paps, allowing Peeta and Katniss to sneak out of the hotel, unnoticed.

They laughed when they saw Finnick putting a show on, posing shirtless on the hood of his limo, under the flashes of the paps.

It took them a few minutes to stop laughing, to catch their breath and realize how close they were on that bench, their thighs pressing against the other. Maybe for the first time, Katniss had to remind herself how much she disliked Peeta, making her stop laughing completely, and moving to the other side of the bench.

The spell they were under was broken.

She started fidgeting, unsure of what they were really doing there. They could have talked in one of their rooms, but apparently he didn't want that, didn't want the chance of Effie interrupting them and starting to spread crazy rumors around.

"You wanted to talk." Katniss started, not looking at him. "So talk."

He sighed, shifting in their shared seat.

"You never make things easy, do you?"

"I never make things easy? You're kidding me, right? I never make things easy! Best joke of the year, no! Of the decade!"

Suddenly the words were too much for her to bear. Who did he think he was, the Golden Boy of showbiz, having sold hundreds of thousands records over the years, when it should have been her at the top of the charts

"Are you losing your mind here Katniss? What are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath.

"You stole my contract, asshole!"

"I did what?"

"My contract!"

"I never stole anything from you!"

"You did! After the talent show!"

"I never wanted that contract ! I pleaded with them to give it to you!"

"Of course you did! That's why I'm at the top of the charts, asshole!"

She was pretty sure her cheeks were flaming, as she took a step back from the bench, looking at Peeta rising up from his place, his own face turning an interesting shade of dark pink, eyes gone from their usual sea blue to a deeper color. He would have been intimidating, if Katniss hadn't been on such an adrenaline rush, she couldn't care less.

"I never ever wanted to be at the top of the charts, Everdeen!"

"Of course you didn't! Let me pity you for a second!"

But he surprised her by grabbing her arm, forcing her to stay in place as he stepped in closer.

"I will never want your pity. Give me your hate, but never your pity. If you don't believe me, that's okay, ask my brothers, ask Haymitch, ask anyone who knew me. I never wanted to be on the top. That's not my place. It had always been yours."

"Then why did you steal my contract!"

"I didn't steal it. They didn't want you to have it."

"What! I'm a better singer than you could ever think of being!"

"Not denying that, Sweetheart. You'll have to ask them. Because of course, you never thought of asking THEM why they picked me? Easier to lay all the blame on me, right? Don't you think you should start there? Ask them why they didn't pick you?"

She was struck by his words. She couldn't process everything he had told her, always thinking he took the contract to annoy her, to make her struggle her way into the music industry. She never stopped to think that maybe she wasn't good enough.

"Then why did you take the contract, if you didn't want to go into the industry?"

Her voice was broken, coming out only as a whisper, a desperation.

He took his hand from her arm, turning a bit to loose his sight on the pond in front of him, avoiding her silver eyes.

"Because I thought I could help you make a name for yourself if I was in it. Look how good it turned out." His laugh was anything but happy, too old for such a young man, too sad for such a happy guy. "This is your chance, Katniss. Here, this week. This contest. We win and your career is on. And I have every intent to win."

"But why? You hate me!"

"I've never hated you. Never. I don't think I could."

"I don't need your pity either."

"It's not pity." He whispered.

"Then what is it?"

What could it be? She had no clue why he would do such a thing for her.

"I know what you did when we were younger." he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"What do you mean?"

"After the bread. I know what you saw."

She looked away from his eyes, back to their usual blue, trying to pierce a hole in her soul.

"I didn't do anything."

"You were the one who set everything in motion. You saved me, Katniss, you saved me from my mother. Your phone call saved me."

Katniss felt like her jaw had hit the floor, as surprise took her completely off guard.

"I … wow.. No.."

"I know it was you, Katniss." He shrugged, as if not knowing what to do with his body, hands, or just with himself. "It's okay. You saved my life."

"How..?"

"How do I know it was you?" He chuckled sadly. "When the cops came, they went directly to the rolling pin and they asked my ex-mother to bring me into the room with them. Not Alec or Tom. Me."

Peeta lifted his gaze directly to hers. "Only one person could have seen what happened so precisely."

"I'm so sorry, Peeta… I didn't want you to know."

"No, please, don't be. You did what nobody else ever did for me, for us. You saved us all." He suddenly lowered his eyes, his cheeks blushing a little as he went on. "And I've never thanked you for that. Never. That's why I took the deal when they didn't hand it to you. To try to help you rise in music, like you deserved. And I failed, again. You obviously don't want to be here."

The wind decided it was time to start playing around them, shuffling through Peeta's hair, moving his blonde curls around his head, as he shifted awkwardly in front of her, while Katniss was struggling hard to connect the dots.

"Oh my god, Peeta…. What do you mean?"

"Nothing. We should go inside, Effie must be nuts looking for us."

"Peeta…."

"Can we go back, please, Katniss?"

He wasn't even looking at her anymore.

But it was too late. Katniss had finally dotted the I's. Peeta was the one who asked for her in the competition, the one behind the mysterious call to her manager.

"And what exactly is that?" Haymitch asked, turning his tablet to the pair coming into the suite, to show them a picture, that had been taken a few minutes ago, when Peeta had his hand on Katniss's arm. They were clearly arguing.

"Where did this come from?" Katniss asked, astonished. They never saw the photographer. "How could they take this picture?"

"Lenses, sweetheart, they call them lenses. Brand new technology, you'll see. Now, two questions. What were you doing out, and why were you arguing?"

"We needed a bit of air." Peeta answered, never looking at Katniss.

"We needed a bit of air," mimicked Haymitch, clearly mocking them now. "Seriously. You two are the best shot at a win we've had in what, twenty years? So you'd better tell me what happened out there, and if the damage can be mended?" He gave Katniss the tablet, clearly expecting her to answer.

"Nothing happened. We talked."

"You .. talked? Does this look like talking to you, Sweetheart? I know this is all a charade, but can you please try to like this man here until Saturday?"

"We had things to discuss, Haymitch. And this charade is over." She could see two pair of eyes looking straight at her, but only focused on the blue ones across the table. "We're friends. We've been friends for years, but I was too stupid to see it."

"What?" Haymitch was looking between the two of them questioning. "Wait, when did this happen? When did you go from 'We hate each other' to 'We're best pals in the world?' Did I miss an episode?"

"I never hated her!"

"We're not best pals!"

They answered their mentor at the same time, in the same breath.

"You never hated me?" Katniss asked, turning to her new friend.

"How could I? But I'm surprised we're not best friends yet!"

She chuckled. "Yeah, we'll wait until tomorrow for that, right?"

"Right."

"Well, if you guys could come up with an explanation for these pictures that - do I need to remind you - are now all over the internet? How do I sell the fact you're friends to the press?"

Peeta looked at Katniss, as if silently asking for her permission to talk.

"That's what friends do. Sometimes we fight. We do not live in the Kingdom of Caring, you know? This is real life."

"And how exactly did you become friends?"

This time, it was Katniss who sought Peeta's approval.

"That's the magic of Districtvision, right?"

The now familiar clatter of heels preceded Effie in the room, her thin arms full of colored clothes and bags matching the very colorful dress she was wearing.

"Magic? Did I hear right? Look at this, lovelies, I ordered these for Saturday. Much better than the boring outfits Cinna and Portia designed. It's Districtvision, we need color and glitter!"

The three other people in the room exchanged horrified looks. Of course they knew about the "tradition" in Districtvision, an unspoken rule allowing the contestant to wear anything from a silver star on their head to their district traditional clothing, but Effie taking charge of clothing might be too much, even for the contest.

"There was nothing wrong with Cinna and Portia's designs. The gowns are beautiful and classy." Haymitch said as he walked towards the pile of clothes bags now piled on the couch

Effie distinctly _tsked_ at the old mentor's answer

"Why do you think we didn't win the previous years? Too classy! All black and sad. We need to color this song!"

"As long as I'm not in a nightgown, I guess everything's fine".

Three pair of eyes turned to Katniss, making her realize she had spoken her mind out loud.

"That's the spirit!" Effie chimed in, clearly happy at Katniss's enthusiasm- or lack of not enthusiasm, really depending on the point of view. "Go try these on and let's see how you look.."

"Effie, really, Cinna's drawings were great…" Haymitch tried to intervene, obviously very aware of the kind of clothes Effie would bring in. "Of course they were, they are, it's CiPo Couture! You know how hard we worked to have them, Effie!"

"Yeah, yeah, but still, I think we should give these outfits a go, you know? As a comparison."

Katniss grabbed the bags Effie handed her, peeking inside, her hands moving the clothes around the silk paper they were wrapped in.

She was pretty sure the woman was completely crazy. There was no way she was going on stage with these outfits. She took the sweater out of the first bag, holding it at arm's length to be sure it was what she had seen.

Alas, it was.

"Effie, i'm not wearing a violet sweatshirt and .." Katniss grabbed something else from the bag "And yellow shorts? Are you colorblind?"

"Katniss, darling, it's not violet, it's lavender. And see how it glitters under the lights?" The older woman took the horrendous sweatshirt, positioning it under the chandelier hanging in the living room, to reveal that indeed, it glittered.

"It's Districtvision, it has to glitter a little."

Katniss moved her head to look at her partner. If she had been surprised at her outfit, a sweatshirt, a pair of tiny yellow shorts with assorted gloves, what was etched on Peeta's face was pure disgust. He slowly took out of the bag a matching ensemble, only with reversed colors. The shorts were violet, and the top a bright yellow.

Effie could be proud of something. She had rendered Peeta Mellark, golden music phenomenon and known for his words, speechless.

"Effie, it's yellow…." he finally muttered, his eyes pleading for help that wouldn't come. Katniss and Haymitch were both too busy trying not to burst out of laughter.

"Peeta, dear, it's not yellow. The color's called dandelion. We wouldn't put you in plain yellow, see. It matches Katniss's outfit so well. And it glitters too!"

"But the socks and sneakers are white! You know? Because we don't need for you to look like clowns! We have to win this thing!" Effie added, handing them both another bag.

"Effie …" Katniss started, unable to go any further with the silliness of the whole thing. There was no way she was wearing that on stage. Their song was crazy enough without needing to put on outfits making them look like lamp posts.

"Yes, please Effie" Peeta chimed in, apparently unable to express to the older woman his disagreement with words. He was holding the clothes with as few fingers as required, as if fearing he would be contaminated by the insanity of them.

"Effie, dear" Haymitch came close to the woman, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "I have always appreciated your fashion sense, you know that? I have supported you every year when you were the D12 stylist."

Peeta and Katniss exchanged a look, frightened beyond words at what was about to come.

"Yes, well, of course, Haymitch, you have absolutely no sense of style!"

"I know, I know. That's why I trust others to dress me up. But do you remember the mean articles from last year? About the twins?"

Katniss slowly put back the offending clothes into their bags, dropping them down on the ground. She could see Peeta doing the same, only to take the bag away from Effie's view.

"Well, the press was horrendous, remember?"

"Oh, I do. They were lovely though, in their red glittering jackets!"

Katniss remembered the two boys, in red suits, jumping all around, all crazy moves and completely off tune.

"Well, what do you say we surprise them? They're expecting us to go all glitter again, but I think we should mix things up Go sober!"

"But, Haymitch, sober is not Districtvision!"

"Or we can ask Cinna to add a bit of glitter on the outfits?"

" But, I bought these outfits specifically for Saturday…"

"Listen, we'll talk about it more tomorrow? Now the kids need to get ready for tonight's show, right? And if we chose these new …. Disguises, we won't want to ruin the surprise, right? So let's stick with CiPo designs for tonight?"

"Yes, you're right! No spoiling! I have to call Cinna now!" Effie exclaimed.

"That you do…" Haymitch added, watching Effie leave the room, her phone already on her ear.

He made sure they couldn't hear the clattering of heels before he turned to the pair in front of him.

"I'll take care of her. You go dress as planned and leave the bags here. I'll take care of them too."

"How will you do that?" Peeta asked, too happy to hand their mentor the colorful bags.

"The less you know the better. I know a man…" the older man finished with a smirk, pointing them in the direction of their rooms.

"We should go get ready", Peeta whispered as he passed in front of Katniss. "We don't need to see what happens to dandelion and lavender here."

"You're right. See you in a bit?"

"Make it five minutes," he winked.

"Yeah, you don't have to zip yourself up, lucky you. But the lavender shorts… I guess lots of your fans would have loved to see you wiggle in those booty shorts."

"Well, maybe, but I bet you would gain a lot of fans by showing your legs in those yellow shorts of yours, you know?"

"Dandelion, Peeta dear." Katniss mimicked Effie, eliciting a roar of laughter from Peeta. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Sure thing. And Katniss?" She turned to him before entering her bedroom. "If you need someone to zip you up, just ask. I'll be next door."

"Thank you, Peeta."

"Anytime. That's what friends are for."Without another word, he left, leaving Katniss to her thoughts. How could she have come from disliking Peeta Mellark so much, to find herself friends with him tonight? How did this happen ?

She started to unpack her dress from the black garment bag hanging on the door of the dresser. This wasn't the piece she would wear on Saturday, rather an elegant red dress with a beautiful purple orchid drawn on it, no glitter, no sequins. She would have to put this piece of couture on soon enough, and it frightened her a little. She wasn't used at all to wearing this kind of gown, custom-made with taste and class, having spent her life in worn out jeans and sweatshirts, indulging in one of her friend Madge's dresses only every once in awhile.

She thought the dress would take her mind away from her relationship with Peeta. She only realized it this afternoon, despite everything she thought, that they had been connected for years. He gave her the bread that saved her family's lives. She made the call that ended his relationship with his mother - the abusive bitch everybody knew about in their little town of Panem, but nobody never acted on it.

She realized she had kept tracks of him throughout school, high school and after he won that stupid contest. She was the first to listen to his songs, to criticize them as soon as they were out on the radio, even if she knew it wasn't really deserved.

She suddenly remembered what Peeta told her. That they didn't want her to win.

Katniss grabbed her phone, dialing her agent's number. "Plutarch," The quiet voice answered.

"It's Katniss."

"Oh, the soon to be star. What can I do for you?"

"Why didn't they pick me to win the contest?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The talent show? In Panem? When you signed me in?" She took a deep breath. "Why didn't I win?"

Katniss head the heavy sigh on the other side of the line, as well as the creak of leather telling her her agent was leaning back into his large desk chair.

"Because you weren't ready then."

"I was. I sing with the same voice."

"It's not always about the voice. It's about what's beneath it. The meaning. The maturity. You sounded empty."

"And I don't sound empty anymore?"

"We'll see on Saturday."

"Why didn't you tell me Peeta Mellark asked for me?"

"Does it matter?" Plutarch answered.

Katniss thought for a bit. Did it matter that he was the one giving her a chance now? It did. But for reasons between Peeta and herself, not for anyone else to know. And certainly not for Plutarch, if she didn't want this bit of information to end up in every news outlet he could find.

"No, it doesn't. Thank you Plutarch."

She understood better now. She had been empty at the time of the contest, so empty because of what life had thrown her way, that she reacted the only way she knew. Closed herself off, blamed the others for something that she had no power over at the time.

Time had its effects. She was stronger now, readier.

And she had her chance at shining, finally. All thanks to Peeta.

She had been so mistaken about him. There were really truly kind people in this word. He was one of them.

"This is crazy. Can we run away back to some kind of sanity?"

Katniss was happy she didn't have to perform tonight. She usually didn't know how she could have focused on the song they had to sing after seeing the complete madness that took place in front of them. Women playing cellos in space blankets - she had seen it already. But what was happening right now in front of her, a woman dressed in traffic gown, shining in the dark, half her head shaved, screaming in the mic, that was beyond weird.

The only good thing coming out of that evening were the hosts, who not only could sing and dance, but were also hilarious in their speeches. Nevermind how handsome they both were.

"Stop ogling Mans like that, Katniss. He will notice, you know," Peeta whispered in her ear.

They had spent the evening so far talking about everything and nothing. Chatting about the performances they saw - Katniss barely masking her surprise at the dancing robots while Peeta laughed at her expression, or simply talking about the years they had spent ignoring each other.

Of course, there had been questions when they came into the Snow Center, the image that caught them arguing having made the Districtvision news. They had brushed it away, laughing at it, dismissing it as nothing, their chemistry so evident nobody questioned them.

The woman from District 33 left the stage, while a clip from the next candidate was shown on the screen.

"Oh he looks like Legolas!" Katniss said, pointing at the man on the screen.

"You're going to root for him then if he's an archer!"

"I'm sure I can beat him."

"Of course you can." Peeta said

"But he has better hair than - OH MY GOD PEETA HE IS NAKED!"

Katniss put her hand in front of her mouth, trying to prevent her scream to escape her, averting her eyes from the screen, where indeed the man was naked, petting a wolf.

"Is he going to sing naked?" she asked Peeta, not daring looking at the scene again.

"I have no clue?" The young man watched again, as the music started to get louder. "It's safe now, he put his clothes on. You can watch,"he chuckled as Katniss peeked from between her hands, looking at the stage in front of them. Feeling safe enough, she finally watched the performance, still tense, expecting the man to get rid of his shirt at any moment.

"This is crazy." She said. "He was naked, Peeta, NAKED on the stage in front of shitzillion people!"

"You're so pure…"

"I'm not! I'll let you know I am not pure!"

"I mean for the industry. For me you're perfect." His hand fell on her knee, squeezing it kindly before he replaced it on his lap. "And you seemed to kind of like that guy from 24. Tall, dark and handsome is your type apparently?"

"He reminds me of Gale. Remember him?"

"Hawthorne? Yeah, I think my brother still has a scar from one of their fights."

"Boys and their fights…"

"Hey, I'm a boy, and I fought! I should be offended!"

"And here we are with our lovely duo from D12! Remember, they don't have to perform tonight, they are directly qualified for the final. So Peeta and Katniss? Are you having a good evening so far?"

One of the host of the evening, Mans whateverhisnamewas, stood in front of them both, completely naked but for a wolf toy in front of his private parts.

The audience went wild at the sight, allowing Katniss to hide her face in Peeta's shoulder. She didn't want to see that much of skin from that man, not here, not like that. This contest was pure silliness and she was contemplating the thought of running away in a galaxy far far away, for her own sanity.

"Mans!" The hostess shouted at the man. "Will you leave Everlark alone?"

The naked man reluctantly moved away from Katniss and Peeta, while Petra, the hostess came by.

"Apparently, Ivan set up a trend here. So how's our favorite duo doing?" she asked the duo.

Katniss had regained a bit of countenance after the man left, but her hand was still clutching Peeta's shirt, as if for dear life.

"How did you call us?" Katniss asked, frowning.

"Everlark. Can you believe it's trending worldwide?"

"Everlark?" Peeta asked."Oh, I get it, Everdeen and Mellark. Fun!"

"So, Peeta, enjoying your evening?"

"It's full of surprises, Petra!" the young man answered, a smile on his face.

"That's Districtvision! And now up to the next five candidates!"

Petra left the green room, heading to the backstage, leaving Peeta and Katniss alone on their designated couch.

"Everlark? What the hell? We have a nickname?"

"Apparently, Katniss. What can I say? I didn't know either"

"And we're trending? Like really?"

"We'll have to wait until the show ends, I don't have my phone…"

"I have mine…"

"What? How did you?"

"Effie asked for yours, not mine. I didn't volunteer to let her take it."

"Katniss, you are a little devil."

"What can I say, I forgot. It's such a big big day!" Katniss smirked, mimicking Effie again.

"Can we look at it?" Peeta asked, looking around them. The focus was on the performance on stage, a woman screaming for Dona or for donuts, he couldn't be sure.

Katniss nodded, before grabbing her phone, hidden in the inner pocket of her black jacket and quickly launching the twitter app.

"What do we search for?" she wondered, not knowing what to type.

"Districtvision maybe?"

"Let's try."

She quickly put the word in the search bar.

"Wow. There's a ton of them! People really like this thing…" she said, amazement in her voice.

"It's been on for 60 years Katniss, must mean something to them, yeah."

"Oh look! They talk about us! We have a hashtag!"

"Show me ?"

She clicked again quickly, while Peeta was looking around checking if someone was paying attention to them.

"Oh, god. People wonder if the picture shows the end of Everlark! How do they come with such names?"

"Well, it's better than Peeniss, right?"

"Peeta!" she slammed his chest, laughing. "Don't let Effie ear you! She would lose her corset!"

"Now, Miss Everdeen, you're going too far." He started laughing, before the lights came up again, as the candidate from D14 joined the rest of the crew in the Green Room.

"We should do something to prove them we're not angry at each other, what do you think?" Peeta asked, running a hand through his blonde hair, a sure sign he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, but what can we do? The press is outside, we have to wait until we go out?"

"We take a picture of the both of us and share it on social media?"

Katniss paused a second, thinking about the consequences this act could have, besides Effie's wrath that they brought a phone inside the Snow Center. Truly, nothing came to her mind.

"Okay. Let's do it."

She quickly clicked on the icon on the phone, reversing the camera so they would both appear on the picture.

"I guess I have to come closer?" Peeta asked as he moved towards Katniss, to appear into the frame. He was soon leaning against her, his head almost on her shoulder, as they both looked at the camera, smiling.

She clicked on the green button, taking the pic.

"What do you think?" Katniss asked, quickly pushing the buttons to show the picture.

"Not bad…."

"But?"

"No but, really, Katniss."

"Peeta Mellark you have that look in your eyes…"

"Which look?"

"The one you had at school before going head into a passionate debate. So, but what?"

"But as in the conjunction, right? You're not talking about my beautiful backside?'

"Peeta ! Stop it!"

He chuckled, turning his head as the lights around them went down again, a sure signal for another candidate to come onto stage.

"So, will you let me try something?"

"Depends on the something, I guess." Katniss answered him carefully. She wasn't about to agree to anything he asked. They were only new friends. There were limits.

"You'll see. Nothing bad. And Effie will be over the moon. She might even be happy you forgot to give her your phone."

"And you plan on doing this how?"

"Put the phone on picture mode. It's nothing bad, I swear."

"Okay." She put the phone on them, leaning against him this time, surprised when he took the phone out of her hands.

"Let me take this one. If you don't like it, we'll use the first one."

She nodded, although in the almost dark of the Green Room, now only lit by the lamps on the tables, she was pretty sure he couldn't see her move her head, but somehow, maybe he felt it.

He grabbed the phone.

They leaned into each other.

She smiled, her usual picture smile, the one she reserved for the press interviews.

Until she sensed his lips on her cheek, feeling herself relax slightly at the warmth coming from the place where they connected.

She should have been uncomfortable about it, but really wasn't. She could feel herself getting lost in this feeling, like nothing else she had known before. Lips had never felt so good on her skin.

"What do you think?" his voice was a bit lower than usual, taking her out of her reverie

"What?' she asked.

"Look at the picture…" he gave her her phone back, letting Katniss look through the picture he had taken.

She had her eyes closed, her face leaning into his lips as he watched her, his baby blues wide open.

They both looked happy, and relaxed.

"You're right, this one is better"

"So will you post it?"

"I will allow it."

She quickly typed a message, adding the picture, before posting it onto infinite land that was the internet.

The internet went crazy. Viral. Effie was on a cloud above the ninth.

Haymitch welcomed them in their ensuite with two thumbs up, a smirk on his face.

"Well done, lovebirds! You're going to have half of the districts voting for you just for this picture.

Great idea, Peeta!"

"How do you know it was Peeta's idea?" Katniss asked, annoyed their mentor could read them so easily.

"Don't tell me it was yours…"

"It wasn't, but still, I could have thought of it!"

"Yeah, maybe in an alternate universe. Still, did you get questions from the press?"

Katniss shrugged, of course there had been questions from the press all the way out of the Snow Center, asking them about the kiss, the infamous picture from before completely forgotten.

"We did. Usual stuff." Peeta answered, raking his hand in his hair, again.

"Nobody asked about the picture?" Haymitch's voice had turned curious.

"They asked about Saturday." The young man sighed, before levelling his eyes with their mentor's.

"Of course they asked. Are we friends or more and so on and so on. Flickerman screamed so loudly I think he might have blown an artery."

"And what did you answer?"

"That we were looking forward to Saturday. Nothing more. We know how to work the press, Haymitch."

"That you do, Kid. She, on the other hand…"

Katniss was about to jump off the couch, because seriously, how could this old man talk about her like that, when she saw Peeta moving in front of her, preventing her from slapping Haymitch.

"She's learning, and is doing really well. So cut her some slack, will you? It's already difficult enough with the pressure they put on without adding the pressure from both of you. I don't recall you having to sing in front of hundreds of thousands people in purple booty shorts, right?"

"Not purple. Lavender, Peeta dear." Effie chimed in.

"Purple or lavender, we're not wearing them, Effie. We stick to what Cinna and Portia made. The song is crazy and stupid enough, we don't need to add another layer of madness."

Shock was dispatched on Effie's face, as if she had been slapped.

"I will have you know I wrote that song, young man!" Haymitch interjected, angry lines showing on his forehead.

"And you're proud of it? I don't know what's worse."

Peeta turned his back to Haymitch, who was clearly fumbling, trying to come up with a reply, and held his hand out to his partner.

"Katniss, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Yeah, I'll go too." With his help, she rose from the couch and followed Peeta into the corridor that lead to their respective rooms.

It's only when they arrived at the door to hers that she realized she was still holding his hand.

She let go quickly to grab the doorknob, ready to bid him good night when she found herself face to face with him. He obviously made a move to lean in and talk to her, at the same moment she turned to speak to him..

They locked eyes, and for Katniss, time stopped.

She knew Peeta had blue eyes, of course she did. Everybody in their town knew it. It was the Mellark's trademark thing, the three boys sharing the same color but with distinct shades. Quinn, the eldest, who was quieter and wiser, had eyes like the sky just minutes before the sunset, a purplish blue that was darker than Alec's, whose were so blue, they were nearly black. Peeta's were clear and bright, like the sky after the rain when no clouds could be seen, sometimes glittering with a sparkle that made them a beacon, attracting everything towards them.

But seeing them so close to her now made her realize how lost one could get, should they choose to dive into them. It was a highway to his soul that she didn't know whether she should embark on or stay as far away as possible from.

He made the choice for them, leaning forward until his lips grazed her ear, whispering softly.

"I'm here if you need my help to unzip…"

His breath left a trail along her jaw until she felt his lips on her cheek, planting a kiss as light as a rose petal there, before retreating to his room.

It took quite some time before Katniss was able to move from her spot, staring at the door down the corridor, wondering what had just happened.

And they'd only been friends for twelve hours.

Wednesday passed in a heavy mood. Effie was crying every time Katniss or Peeta talked to her, taking a lilac handkerchief out of her sleeve to wipe her tears. The bag full of offending garments was gone into the oblivion of the fashion police, never to be mentioned again. Cinna and Portia came by to make the last changes to the outfits for the Saturday.

Haymitch was pouting somewhere.

Everlark was trending worldwide.

They had become the talk of the town, obliterating the other candidates, even the almost sure winners from D1 and D2. Katniss and Peeta were all the Districtvision sphere was talking about, their suite being the center of the contest show. They had to unplug the phone from the wall to get a bit of rest, and security agents had to come to guard the entry of their suite from fans threatening to break in at any minute.

Katniss and Peeta's phones were also the target of numerous news outlets, asking for all kind of interviews.

The only messages Katniss cared for were the ones coming from her family, and had spent hours literally explaining to her sister that the kiss was only some marketing picture, shot to deflect a negative paparazzi picture taken earlier.

Nothing more, really.

But the teenager had other ideas, ideas she tried to explain to her sister on the phone.

"Come on, Katniss, admit it, Peeta is hot!"

"He's not bad. But there are tons of hot guys around, I don't know why you're focused on him!"

"Do you let the other hot guys kiss you?"

"He didn't kiss me, it was a peck. For the contest."

"If that's what you're telling yourself. You know Everlark is trending, right?"

"And?"

"It's the both of you! Everdeen - Mellark! It's cute!"

"I know what it is, Prim, it's just a word."

"Come on, Kat, you know it's more, you had such a crush on him in high school!"

"I did not! You really have to stop watching your stupid tv shows, you know that?"

"You did! At night you used to say his name!"

"I did what?"

"Some nights, you said his name in your dreams."

"Peeta's?"

"Yes. Peeta's. Who else?"

"I never dreamt about him."

"You sooo did, Kat!"

"And you're pulling that out why? Is it even true?"

"It is true, I swear on Buttercup!"

"Whatever. We're not dating. We're just friends."

"If you say so. So, how's life in D7 ?"

"Chill. But it's okay, I don't mind. I wish we could go out more frequently, but with the crazy people outside, it's difficult. We only did the customary tours.."

"Then why don't you put on a wig and go out?"

"Because nobody will notice we're gone?"

"Ah, yes, there's that."

"Yup. We're pretty much trapped here until Sunday. I'll be home Monday early morning."

"Why do you have to be so far away, Kat? You know there are journalists at the door asking us about you, and you and Peeta?"

"There are?"

"Yeah, but Plutarch sent men here so we're safe. But we'll be glad when it's all over."

"Me too, little duck, me too."

"I have to go, Kat, school's not waiting for me!"

"Okay. Love you, sis!"

"Love you more!"

Katniss listened to the click of the phone, a sure sign Prim had hung up on the other side of the line. She felt sad and angry at the thought that her being here had indirect implications on her family and their lives. She never imagined that would be the case, that her mother and sister would have to deal with her being in the spotlight. She thought about Peeta, wondering how he had been dealing with fame these last years, being the center of attention every day. She couldn't remember how many times she had snorted at seeing his face on the cover of magazines, "showing off" as she thought.

Maybe she could ask him how he was dealing with all this fame-thingy?

It would just take a phone call, after all.

Just a call, nothing more, really.

Right?

Right.

Without thinking more, she pushed on the Peeta button on her phone (he now even had his own ringtone) hoping for him to answer quickly.

She let it ring, ring until it went to voicemail.

Without another thought, she put her phone on the nightstand. Maybe Peeta was busy or had his phone silenced if he wanted to sleep. Or maybe he was taking care of things, or he could even be in the shower.

Shower. Peeta.

Two words she never associated together, though suddenly a vision of Peeta in the bathroom (which she assumed was the same as hers) appeared in her mind, water dripping from his head onto his chest, creating a whole set of images she never thought of before, images she never thought would come to her.

A knock on the door of her room startled her from her inappropriate thoughts. Getting up from the bed, she went to open it, only to find Peeta on the other side. Hair still wet. Shirt clinging to his shoulders.

"I saw you called?" he asked with a wink.

"And you didn't think to call me back?"

"Better to talk face to face. So, can I come in?"

"Or we can speak here ?"

"As you wish. What did you want to talk about" Peeta asked, leaning on the doorframe.

"How do you handle the fame?"

"I don't. That's why I have a personal assistant, a manager, and security."

"What?"

"You sure I can't come in? This could take a while to explain." He asked.

"Okay. but don't sit on the bed!"

"Why not?"

"I sleep in it!"

He chuckled before coming in, spotting a chair by the window, on which he sat, crossing a leg on his knee.

"Close the door, please, I don't want Haymitch or Effie to hear this." He said quietly.

She complied before climbing onto her large bed, setting herself comfortably against the fluffy pillows lining the headboard.

"So?"

"Fame is a fickle friend, Katniss. A friend I don't want too close to me. Believe it or not, I don't like being in the spotlight, having my face on magazines covers, having to pose half naked for photo shoots."

"Then why do you do it?"

"Because that's the game. To sell record you need to do more than just sing. You have to 'touch the public's heart'. So, since Rebels audience were teenagers, you have to play the game. Pose shirtless on the beach, look out at the horizon wistfully to move the crowds. Give interviews about your fake perfect girlfriend. And what's the result? You have to answer even more questions. Have your family get harassed. You know that my dad had people coming into the bakery just to leave a stack of photos for me to sign? People look at you differently as soon as you've had your ten minutes of glory.

"So you want to know how I handle it? I don't. I created a double, the Peeta that is out there for the crowd and the show. . I drifted, I indulged in all the excesses possible, Katniss. it's so easy to forget who you are, to become what they want to be. You lose yourself in the process." Peeta sighed, leaning forward until his arms were on his knees, his head bowed down. "Giving in to this costs a lot. It costs everything you are. So, please don't lose yourself to fame. Deal with it from afar, keep being who you are Katniss, please. Surround yourself with good people that only have YOUR interests at heart, not the dickheads who only think about how much money you're worth to them."

"Like Plutarch." She said.

"I don't know him. I can't tell."

"And that's why you want to quit?"

"I've had enough of this, Katniss. I'm more than a half-naked man moving my butt on a stage to sell records. I never thought this was what I would have when I took that deal, you know? I wanted to write my songs, to have my words, my music out. Not that crappy thing. So yeah, I'm backing off. You're on the right path, though, cause you are known for your music."

"Yeah, maybe, but well, look where I end up."

"Is it bad?" he asked, and at this very moment he very much looked like the little boy she saw for the first time during their first kindergarten day.

"Not entirely. I mean, now we talk to each other. I know you're not a complete asshole, now." Katniss smirked.

"Thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome. See, I can be nice, too!"

"You're always nice, Katniss. I-"

The door to the room opened, a completely disheveled Effie barging in.

"We have a terrible problem. The jury wants to exclude us from the final!"

"Why would they do that?" Katniss asked.

"D1 has put a request that Wake Me Up is not an original song. We could be out if they agree!"

Jitterbug, indeed.

End of part 1.

* * *

This story was only possible because of the Europe Club ( akai-echo, bandathebillie ombradellaluna joined by two converts ct522 and xerxia)  
My deep thanks to akai-echo for the amazing banner, to ombradellaluna for the name of the story, and to ct522 and xerxia for their magic touch, their patience, their talent, their awesomeness, their kindness, at betaing 9800 words full of mistakes.

Thank you all for making this story possible.

Because seriously, an Everlark!Eurovision story, how crazy is this ?

Hope you enjoyed! If so, please leave a small message :)  
I'm the girlfromoverthepond on tumblr (yay france:) )


	2. Semi Final 2

"I never copied a word ! It's not plagiarism!" Haymitch screamed into the phone at the chairman of the D12 committee. "Well, of course I can write funny and perky songs! Who do you think I am? I have no clue where this is coming from except it's a lame attempt from D1 to get us out of the race. You know when the deliberations are? Monday? You're kidding me? We have two days to come up with a song? Har, har you're hilarious, two days and a half!"

The old man hung up the phone, clearly angry at what he had heard.

"The bastards! I am going to go and kill Gloss Archer right now!"

"What's going on? Are we out?" Peeta asked, exchanging a look with Katniss.

Effie was in one of the loveseats, sobbing quietly into her handkerchief, muttering words about a lost reputation, a lost contest, her loss of credibility. None of the other people in the room really paid attention to it.

Haymitch's shoulders visibly slumped as he fell onto the couch of the living room, his right hand automatically going to the pocket inside his jacket to retrieve his flask. No one dared call him out on that move today. After taking a swig of his beverage, he turned to Katniss and Peeta.

"We have two days to come up with a new song. If we don't, we're out. We are already half out, mind you. This song is original, I never copied anything."

"So why do we have to make a new one? You can prove it, right?" Peeta asked, frowning. "If the song is an original, the lyrics and music are copyrighted, right?"

"They claim it's a song from before the War, in a period called New Wave? Crazy."

"Is it?" Katniss chimed in.

"I have no clue what these waves are about, I didn't copy anything." Haymitch said.

"So if they will see the truth, why bother?" Peeta's gaze went to Haymitch as he asked.

"Because they will deliberate on Monday." the old man sighed.

"Monday? Asin _next_ Monday?" Katniss was amazed at the timing. How could they perform on Saturday if the decision was to be taken the Monday after.

"Yeah. As in the Monday after the Contest."

"Bloody hell!" Peeta exclaimed, holding out his hand to grab Haymitch's flask, which the older man gave willingly, and taking a sip. "We have two days to come up with a song."

"Two days? Music and lyrics? It's impossible! And we really can't create any kind of decent choreography in two days without music! We'd better forfeit!" Effie's voice was broken, behind her sobs.

"We are not forfeiting. That would be too easy. And anyway we can't forfeit, or we won't be able to take part in next year's contest, or any year after that." Peeta stood up, moving to the small desk on the corner of the room. "We have two songwriters here. We'll come up with something."

"Two?" Effie asked, looking at Haymitch, then at the young man in front of her. "You write songs too, Peeta?"

"Not me. Katniss does."

"She does?" Haymitch's voice was filled with incredulity.

"Yes. Now, can you cancel our appearance tomorrow evening, Effie? I guess we're not needed in the semi-final?"

"I don't know" she said sniffing, taking a new Kleenex from the box on her lap. "We would need a very good reason for that." She blew her nose, very unlady-like.

"I think we have one, right? We're devastated by what's happening blah blah …. You can sell it, Eff! Be the best you that you can be, okay?"

"I'm going to try….." She took another Kleenex that she used to dabb under her eyes "Of course, I might need to freshen up a little. I can't go meet the press in this outfit. They already saw me wear it." She walked away as fast as her high heels and tight skirt allowed. "And of course, I have nothing appropriate to wear for such thing, why didn't I bring a black dress? Silly, silly me?!"

"There are still the purple shorts" Katniss whispered, as she watched Effie wandering away, eliciting a loud laugh from Peeta. She hadn't realized he had come so close to her.

"She would look awesome in them, right?" he asked, winking.

Katniss didn't want to imagine what Effie would look like in the infamous clothes, never wanted anyone close to that bag again.

"I have no clue, and I'd rather not think about this." She moved closer to Haymitch, still crouched on the sofa, and took the flask out of his hand, putting it on the table.

"So, old man, do you have any ideas? 'Glitter, Glitter little Flask' doesn't seem like Districtvision." she asked.

"Oh, she's hilarious. Because you have something else to propose, Sweetheart?"

"No, not yet. But maybe we can work on this?"

"Oh now you suddenly want to be a part of this?" Haymitch's tone was snarky.

"No. I want to kick the D1 asses to the moon and back. I don't care if we lose in the process."

"You might end up winning, you know?"

"Now, you're the hilarious one, Haymitch." Katniss turned to Peeta. "Nobody's going to vote for us. Not after that."

"I don't know. But I'm not willing to go down without a fight," he answered, calmly. "And remember we have Effie. She can change the winds even if Aeolus has decided otherwise. She'll sell it."

"But she won't write us a song. Isn't there anyone we can call? Someone who already has songs ready, maybe?" Katniss asked, her voice as calm as possible, despite the inside ruckus she was feeling.

Peeta smiled. "I'll call Finn. Maybe he has ideas?"

"Yeah, call Golden Boy, maybe he can give you one of his, Baker Boy!" Haymitch smirked, taking another sip of his flask.

"Okay, I'll be right back." With that, Peeta left through the door leading to the bedrooms, leaving Katniss and Haymitch alone.

"So how come you don't hate him anymore?" the old man asked, unsuccessfully trying to stand up from his couch.

"I don't think I hated him in the first place. And that's none of your business," she answered. "You know where there's paper and a pen here?"

"No clue. Why would I know?"

"You're helpless, you know that?"

"I already wrote a song for this bloody damn thing. I'm not sure I can do another."

"It's just a song, Haymitch, we're not asking you to write the Encyclopedia!"

"You little, little girl. There are rules to song writing, above all when you write for Districtvision. You need an entrance, lively music, beautiful people, and a bit of exoticism. Are you going to do a belly dance, Sweetheart?"

"You wish. We're going to do the best song this contest has ever seen."

"That's not setting the bar very high…"

"Can't you say something useful? Encouraging?"

Haymitch looked at her carefully, taking another sip, before answering. "No."

"Fine." Katniss walked towards the desk, shuffling through it to grab a piece of paper and some hotel-issued pens, before heading to the large glass table in the dining-room, as far away as possible from their mentor.

If he wasn't willing to help them, she was. Weirdly, she wasn't ready to back out from a thing she despised only days before. Something had shifted in her newfound friendship with Peeta, something she couldn't really label. A desire to prove them wrong, to prove to her manager, her family, her friends, and Peeta that she could write a song in a short time. She knew it was possible. After all, it was only a couple of lines, a couple of chords, nothing too big, right?

Right.

She heard Peeta coming back into the room, holding his phone to his ear, talking to someone.

"Of course, I'd appreciate that. No, I mean yes, it has to be a good song, you know? Yeah, maybe not all glittery either. And no penguins. Well, that would be easier, right? Yeah, please, send them over. Thank you Mike, I appreciate. Yeah, I'll owe you one."

"So, Golden Boy found a solution?" Haymitch groaned from the couch he was sinking more and more into, trying to take a sip from his flask, only to find it was empty and tossed it on the table in front of him.

"I'm going to make a few calls on my own. Find out who's behind this. And to find inspiration."

He rose with difficulty, grumbling and swearing before heading to the door on shaking legs, holding himself against the walls for support.

"He's drunk," Peeta stated as soon as Haymitch was out.

"Pointing out the obvious there." Katniss added, shaking her head from right to left.

"So what did you come up with?"

"Nothing." she sighed, looking at the paper on which she had doodled a few flowers. "I didn't find anything I wanted to talk about. You?"

"Mike will send me a few partitions and demos this evening. He hopes we'll find something suitable."

"Mike?"

"Mike Henry. He's a producer who worked for Rebels."

"Peeta, no teenage songs."

"That's what I told him. And no ballads."

Katniss looked at Peeta, a question on her face. "Why not?"

Peeta chuckled, sitting on a chair on the other side of the table. "It's almost like you've never watched Districtvision, Katniss."

"As far as I know, it's not mandatory, right? So tell me, what's wrong with a ballad?"

"There's nothing wrong with a ballad. As long as you don't sing it pretending to cry, or oversell it, it's be fine." He ran his hand through his hair, messing his curls a bit more. "It's just a saying here, 'oh, no, not another ballad.' But the good ones can kill it all."

"Haymitch's song was far from being a ballad."

Peeta chuckled. "As far as possible, yes. But it was a really good Districtvision song, you know? A bit childish and completely nuts, but it has everything. Good melody that stays in the head, lyrics that everybody can understand and that they can relate to, and well, we make quite a pair on stage."

"We do?"

"Have you seen the frenzy outside the hotel? This Everlark thing has taken over. We could have won, Katniss. Now we need to go on stage to sing, else our district will be banned from the contest in the years to come."

"We need a song." Katniss said, sighing.

"We do."

"Any idea how we can do that?"

"Not a clue, Katniss, you're the one who can write songs."

She sighed again, putting her elbows on the table and letting her head fall into her hands.

"I have no clue what to talk about. I don't have any idea. This stage is so not mine…"

"It's not mine either… Well, I guess we could talk about love, you know? Love is universal."

"So is peace. So how about we make a song called 'Love, Peace' and sing it with heart eyes?" Katniss snarked at her idea

"It could work, maybe?"

"It would require Effie's shorts."

"On the other hand, it definitely wouldn't work and we need something completely different."

Katniss smiled. "Yeah, we do. So, any ideas?"

"Still nothing." Peeta added, as he stole a sheet of paper from Katniss's stack and a pen. "Let's give us some time, right?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," she nodded, discarding her doodles, taking a new paper. Her eyes lingered on the table a little, before she started writing words on it.

She started scribbling some idle words here and there, hoping maybe ideas would come to her mind. She looked up, trying to find what he was writing, at the same time didn't want to invade his privacy, didn't want to bother him as he was so engrossed into what he was doing.

Katniss watched him from under her eyelashes, noticing that instead of writing, he was using his pen to draw precise lines on the blank paper. She could see his brows furrowed in concentration, and how his eyes would close sometimes as if he needed the time to think before going back to his drawing. A question couldn't stop running through her head at the sight of his closed eyes - how could his eyelashes not tangle together? They were so long, so golden, she almost thought they were fake, until she realized they were a part of him, like the carved jaw or the dimples on his face. She looked down his arm, still drawing lines on the paper, but this time, she could see the shape of a tree, much like the one that still stood in the bakery yard, after so many years.

She couldn't help the words falling from her lips, taking him out of his concentration.

"Oh, Peeta, this is beautiful. I can't believe you still draw…."

"How do you know I sketch?"

"You were always doodling in your notebooks at school. And I remember the cakes, at the bakery. Your dad told me once it was your doing."

"You went into the bakery? Why didn't I see you?"

"I wanted bread, it was after the witch left…. I couldn't stand looking at you, knowing, after what I… what I had done."

"You saved me, Katniss. There was nothing bad."

"I betrayed you."

"You didn't. There's a huge probability I would have ended up dead or crippled if you hadn't told someone." Peeta sighed, changing the subject abruptly. "Yeah, I drew when I was little. I'm surprised you noticed."

"It's one of those things I guess. Everybody at school knew you were drawing. And wrestling. You've always been the Wunderkid out there".

"Yeah with so many great friends who never thought twice about my injuries, always turning a blind eye. I noticed things about you too, you know? After … well, you know."

"There was nothing to notice about me."

"You're kidding, right?" he looked at her with bewilderment, as if she had fallen from the moon or something. "You always wore a braid, always falling on the right side of your neck, you never ate at the cafeteria, and more days than not you didn't even eat, but Prim always did. That is until after the bread. Then you always had green things or soups, or something. You always walked so quietly, too."

He looked away, almost shyly to the paper in front of him before continuing. "You're a hunter. You're a caretaker. You always drink your coffee black. And you have the most amazing eyes I've ever seen."

Katniss felt the blush coming to her cheeks at Peeta's words. "You're a baker. You're a painter. You always double-knot your shoelaces. You never take sugar in your tea. You like to sleep with the windows open."

She had noticed him too.

"How do you know I sleep with the windows open?"

"How do you know I hunt?" she answered him.

"How do I look, darlings?" Effie sauntered into the room on three inch black heels,, all traces of her previous meltdown gone. "Under the circumstances, I had to go for sober, as you see."

Sober, in Effie's words meant wearing a black dress with red and oranges flames embroidered in it. Very large flames, one coming up to her cleavage, the other in the back, transforming in sparkles glittering all over the black fabric. Sober.

"You look great, Effie." Peeta said, as Effie continued her walk towards them.

"I really do, don't I?" She turned twirled, showing the back of her heels matching the red of her dress.

"I needed something sober to face the press. We are under traumatic circumstances. Now, what should I feed these vultures? Do we have a song yet?"

"No, but we're working on it." Peeta said.

"Of course you are! How silly of me! Where's Haymitch?"

"He's working on it too" said Katniss, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"Of course! So, what do I tell them? That we're devastated and working on a new song?"

"That's it." Peeta said, after sharing a quick look with Katniss.

"Maybe you should come with me? To show we're a team, united and all?"

"Nah, you're better on your own. You will own the stage, Effie" Peeta said, as he distinctly heard a sigh coming from Katniss. "And we have to keep working on the song."

"Oh, yes, of course you do. Well, then I'm on my way. Talk to you in a few! Bye darlings!"

They both watched as Effie made her exit out of the en-suite, walking away with restored confidence.

"She's something else, really," Katniss whispered once the blonde woman had left the room. "We have different ideas of what "sober" means."

"That's Effie for you. Why go simple when you can go over the top? She was made for Districtvision," Peeta answered.

"I'm beginning to think Districtvision was made for her …"

Peeta's laugh filled the room.

"How long have we been at it, now?" Katniss asked, as she took another page, looking at Peeta.

The young man checked his watch. "Exactly seventy six minutes. Have You come up with something?"

"Yup. Apparently, I wrote a letter to Prim. So I'm going to have Effie post it."

Peeta chuckled. "Well, at least you're writing." He turned his paper towards her. "Look what I came up with. Very helpful."

On the blank paper, Katniss could see a beautiful dandelion, seemingly blowing in the wind, its seeds starting to fly away. Her fingers itched to touch it, to blow on it to see the little white wisps moving, taking flight, drifting in the breeze, free.

"Oh Peeta, this is wonderful…." she whispered, not wanting to talk out loud, for fear of breaking the magic the drawing had created. "It's as if it was frozen in time…. And waiting for the wind to blow ... wow. "

Blushing under the compliment, Peeta's tried to take hold of the paper in front of them, but Katniss was too quick."Do you mind if I keep it? It's really beautiful."

"If you want? It's just a little something I did…"

"It's a beautiful little something…." She continued looking at the dandelion, her finger tracing the shapes, following the seeds, away. "Thank you," she said earnestly, as she finally looked up from the drawing.

He held her gaze for a little longer than was necessary to express his thanks, before breaking the silence that had fallen.

"So. You wrote a letter for your sister, and I drew. That's not good."

"Did you receive anything from your friend?"

"No, not yet." Peeta said, as he checked his phone again.

"What are we going to do? I have no idea how to start this song," she sighed heavily, ruffling her hand through her hair. "I need a break."

"Tell you what. Let's get out of here," he said, with a smile.

"What? We can't leave the hotel!"

" _Can't_ doesn't exist in my world. That's a perk of being in the business. Everything can be done if you have the right connections."

"But? Where would we go? People would recognize us?" Katniss said, as she watched Peeta walking to the double doors of the ensuite.

"They will. Don't you think it would be good publicity to see us united and all? Acting as if we didn't have a care in the world and that mess is beneath us?"

"But we do care!"

"Do they need to know that, Katniss? Look how well it worked yesterday?"

He was right. The evening they spent at the semi-final had been good, great even. She couldn't recall the last time she had had that much fun. So maybe, going out this night would be a good idea.

"And we need a break. I guess we can go out as friends? You know how to do this?" she finally agreed.

"Welcome to my world, Katniss." he smirked, taking out his phone as he opened the door, urging the two security guards to come in.

It wasn't that difficult, after all, once the security was in. And it took a lot less than she thought to convince them. A few autographs signed by Peeta, a small video for the daughter of the brawnier one, and a selfie with the other, as well as the promise to always stay in their sight so they could do their jobs, if need be.

They all agreed they had to wait until after Effie came back ("I'm so exhausted, my darlings, I need a bath and a latte…") before making their move, not caring about Haymitch who was probably passed out on his bed, snoring his alcohol away.

Sven and Mikka, the security guards, took them out through a back exit, and into a car that wandered the streets of the capital. The two big guys proudly became guides to Peeta and Katniss, once the driver had left them at the port, to wander the streets on their own, showing them the beautiful view of all the canals, making stops at the right places to look at the narrow, paved streets, lazily walking along the centuries-old buildings.

"There's a good restaurant over there, it's called "God Mat". Tell them I sent you - you won't be disappointed."

"You're not coming with us, Mikka?" Peeta asked.

"It's not our job to. We'll be around." Sven replied, handing Katniss her jacket. "Moreover we would look awful in the pictures. I haven't been to the hairdresser in ages…" Katniss chuckled, as the bodyguard made sure to pass his hand through his hair, mimicking the models in the shampoos ads on tv, a total contradiction to his impressive physique.

She felt Peeta's hand on the small of her back, light as a feather yet so warm, just at the place where her blouse was in tucked into her jeans, at the place where a boyfriend would put his hand to guide his woman.

Should she allow this? This proximity, this closeness to him? She sensed him move forward, as if he hadn't noticed that she had stiffened at his touch.

Maybe he hadn't. This wasn't the time to think about it. Now was the time to forget about everything for a few hours, to try forget about the song they had to write, the contest they were in, the shitpack that was thrown at them by some asshat from D1.

Now was the time to hold their heads high and show the world what people from D12 were made of.

It was time to shine.

She followed his hand, surrendering to the warmth it spread in her body, walking in sync with his pace. As his touch felt even lighter on her, she decided to play along. There were already people looking at them strangely, taking their eyes from the beautiful sun going down on the port, tearing them from the landscape, trying to be discreet about their staring.

She knew it was the price to pay to reach the higher ranks of the industry, to be able to sing in large arenas, so for once, she went against her instincts, which told her to fly away, and continued walking alongside Peeta.

They found the restaurant easily, a little bistro all decorated in wood, that smelled like pine and looked like a cabin in the forest, lost in the middle of nowhere, when in fact, it was in the capital of a large country.

They had chosen their meals when the first people came to their table, a shy little girl with her mother, asking if they really were the ones singing on the television.

"What's your name?" Peeta asked, as he took the paper she handed him.

"I'm Elena! Is it true that you two are going to marry?"

Katniss felt her cheeks blush at the little girl's question, when she realized Elena was looking straight at her, expecting an answer. She glanced at Peeta expecting him to come to her rescue, but could see him trying very hard not to laugh as he signed the paper, drawing a little something on it.

She was on her own.

"Well, I don't know, really, we're friends, you know?" she babbled. Talking had never been her forte.

"But you already have a name. Everlark ! As in Everdeen and Mellark! That's what married people do, they share a name, so it means you're going to get married!"

"Elena, please, we do not ask that kind of question. It's not polite." The mother chimed in.

"It's okay, really. Elena, we did not create that name. Other people came up with it. For now Katniss and I are friends, and we're very happy like that. Here is your paper." Peeta handed her the little piece of paper on which he had drawn a butterfly.

"Oh, thank you, but can Katniss sign it too ? Please?" The little blonde girl had beautiful green eyes and she knew how to use them to beg.

"Of course." Katniss signed quickly, handing the autographs to Elena when she was done.

"And I can't wait to see what you wear on Saturday. District 12 always has the craziest outfits!"

Katniss nearly choked on the water she was sipping, remembering oh so well the colorful clothes Effie had brought.

"Maybe I can tell you about them, Elena. Can you keep a secret?" Peeta leaned forward, his face very serious.

"Well of course! I'm nearly 9! I know how to keep a secret!" The little girl seemed outraged at the insinuation that she couldn't.

"Well, Katniss tried on a very beautiful purple and yellow outfit. So … "

"With glitter?" Elena asked, eager.

"Of course! Lots of glitter!"

"And you forgot to say, Peeta, that you have a lovely pair of lavender shorts, too …" Katniss added, not wanting to be the only one embarrassed.

"Lavender! That won't go with your eyes!" Elena exclaimed, not caring in the slightest that her mother was trying to pull her away.

"That's what I told him! Lavender doesn't go with your eyes, Peeta!" Katniss continued, remembering the good old times when Prim was 9, and you could make her believe almost anything.

"You're right, the both of you!" Peeta turned to look at Katniss, a little sparkle in his eyes that screamed mischief. "I will take Katniss's dandelion shorts instead. What you think, Elena?"

"Elena, please, we should leave Katniss and Peeta to their meals. Now say thank you and we will go back to our table."

The little girl faced her mother, trying the green-eyes pout that her mother was obviously immune against, then trying her puppy-dog eyes that didn't work either. With a very heavy sigh, Elena turned to Katniss and Peeta and said "Thank you very much for your kindness, we have to go back to our table."

When the mother had thanked them profusely, they both returned to their table. Katniss caught a last look at the little girl, who had her eyes on them, making a small wave with her fingers, which she

"You're good with children." Peeta said, as he watched the interaction.

"She reminds me of Prim."

"How is she?" he asked, trying to turn his spaghetti in his dish without getting sauce everywhere.

"Prim? She's fine."

"How is she holding up with this mess? It was pretty hard on Alec and Tom. Well, Alec, mostly, Tom loved the celebrity thing a little too much."

"She's okay. Finds all this exciting."

"Good for her, she's strong. Don't freak out, I'm going to lean into you and pretend to say something in your ear. Pretend it's funny." At Peeta's words, Katniss felt her cheeks starting to blush.

"Why would you do that?"

"People outside with their phones out. Let's give them something to talk about…. A little mystery to figure out" he sing-songed.

"You're not going to kiss me, are you?"

"Is that a challenge, Miss Everdeen?" Peeta started leaning forward over the tiny wooden table that stood between them.

"Peeta…." she said warningly, hoping to convey some threat into her words. Without any success, apparently as he continued coming closer, a smug smile on the corner of his face. She saw the reflection of the flashes through the windows, a sure sign Peeta's plan was working. But she was way too busy focusing on his fingers tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, slowly, sweetly, with a lot of care, as if she was a precious doll on display in a museum.

Time stopped, or sped up, or went on, she couldn't tell. She couldn't care less. All she could see, feel were Peeta's lips as they came closer to her ear, as he was about to pretend to say something. She tried to gather her brains to be able to laugh at the right moment, because she was that bad of an actress, and if she wanted to laugh, she needed to think about something really funny. Like the day when Prim fell in the basin of cold water one morning, or the way Effie looked any day of the week.

She was prepared for the laugh, waited for his signal to start hiding behind her hand, as if he had told her the funniest joke in the world.

Only he didn't do what she expected, which was to say nothing.

When his lips were close to her ear, she felt them starting to move. "You look really beautiful tonight, Katniss," he whispered before slowly backing off slowly, a shy smile on his face.

She couldn't laugh, now. Couldn't pretend he had said something funny. She was lost in his eyes that were fixated on hers, lost in the blue of them, like a boat in the middle of ocean, far away from home, but safe. She never registered the flashes popping on the other side of the windows, in the street.

"You're supposed to laugh, Katniss…" he said, his voice soft and sweet.

"You didn't play fair."

"I only told the truth, you know that."

She didn't know. She wasn't beautiful, of that she was sure.

Katniss would be unable to tell how many pictures they posed for, how many autographs they signed, how long they both stayed under the porch of the small restaurant, smiling, answering the same questions over and over again. It took a hard toll on her, as she wasn't accustomed to being recognised, stopped in the street, asked to pose for pictures. Of course, Peeta was a natural at it, having a kind word for everyone, smiling, even taking the pictures himself.

Finally, after she didn't know how long, the crowd started to fade away, leaving the two of them alone, their security detail a few meters behind.

"Shall we walk for a bit?" Peeta proposed, as he extended his hand towards the port nearby, where lazy boats were waiting for the time they would go to the sea, their white color a stark contrast with the sun setting, much after its due time. It was the magic of the northern countries, when the sun decides to stay awake a bit longer, letting its flames linger on the colored houses lining the dock.

Katniss nodded, starting to walk away when she realized Peeta wasn't following her. She turned to see him, looking away at the sea not that far away that the golden of the setting sun lighted. He was mesmerized, as a man deprived from water in the middle of the desert who suddenly found a fountain, too amazed to look at anything else but the droplets of water falling.

It was as if Peeta was lost in his world full of sunsets.

Katniss moved closer to him, tightening her jacket around herself to escape the cold breeze threatening to make her shiver.

"It's beautiful, right? It's like the sun decided to set the sea on fire, trying with desperation to mix with what would otherwise kill him. I've always been fascinated by the colors. It's not only orange, it's a mix of all of them. See the pinks lingering by the clouds? Or the yellows making their way in the middle? I love sunsets, they are so comforting, so … calming. I've always loved them, even back home, I remember looking at the sky from the window of our bedroom."

"The one on the back, right?" Katniss whispered.

"How do you know?"

"I saw you sometimes, looking from it. You always looked sad, looking away as if you were hoping someone was going to come and save you"

"I guess someone did." Peeta answered, not looking at her. "I changed rooms after, I moved to one downstairs. I couldn't stand staying there."

"Makes sense. But you kept your sunsets?"

"I did. They the were hope that a better day would come, that someone would come. I couldn't help but thinking maybe tomorrow .. "

"I used to think the same you know?" Katniss didn't look at Peeta either, staring at the sun setting down into the sea, far away, but so close. She leaned against the railing, the iron cold against her arms, as the boats continued to move, clicking to the rhythm of the waves. "After my dad… "

Even after so many years, it was still hard to process but she tried to explain it to him.

"After he passed away, after everything that happened, I hoped that it was all a nightmare… and that the day after would bring Dad back, or Mom would finally wake up. That I wouldn't have to starve myself to feed Prim, that maybe life could be good again…. But it wasn't. It never was. Until that day in the rain." She leaned a bit forward, trying to hide her face in her arms. "Maybe you wanted to see hope in the sunset, but after you gave me the bread, it was you who gave ME hope. You saved me that day.." She finally gathered enough courage to look at him, only to be faced with his blue eyes, sparkling with something very close to tears. "I had given up. I was so sure I couldn't find anything more for Prim… I was ready to die. And then you came out, giving me that bread. Warm, so warm. I ran away, you remember? But you gave me more than bread. You gave me my hope back. Hope that some people were good, still, after everything that had happened. After that day, at school, I wanted to thank you, but you weren't there. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find you. But you gave me hope, and that hope led to finding food where I never thought to look - In the forest. That's what the sunsets meant to me."

It was the most Katniss had talked to someone in ages, maybe in her life. Words weren't her her go-to way of expressing things, she was much more into action, but she knew Peeta needed the words.

As much as she knew she needed to let them out.

Without a word, he held his hand to her, pulling her closer to him when she took it.

They watched the sunset together.

"Care to tell us what you did yesterday evening?" Haymitch growled as a welcome as Peeta and Katniss entered the dining-room, Effie following close behind. The older woman was still on her sober phase, wearing a purple fluffy dress - "it's not purple, Katniss, dear. It's eggplant. A tad darker".- still embroided with gallons of sequins shining under the light.

"Why, you were looking for us?" Peeta asked, raising one eyebrow, as Katniss sat on the other side of the table.

"You are all over the internet." the older man pushed his tablet in front of them, opened to a feed showing many of pictures of them outside.

"And that's a bad thing?" Katniss took the device in her hand, shuffling through the messages and pictures. She remembered some of them, mostly the ones with the kids, some with men trying to get a little bit too close to her, to be stopped by Peeta's hands on her wrist, or a witty comment. "We look good on these."

"Well, and that's all good, Sweetheart. But we don't have a song so what use is it to try to charm the population?"

"We do have a song, Haymitch." Peeta answered, as he poured orange juice into Katniss's glass before filling his own.

"You do?" The old man sounded surprised.

"We do." Katniss confirmed.

"And this happened how? Between your cosy little dessert and the walk on the port?"

"The pictures on the port were so beautiful! The two of you watching at the sunset… It was effulgent!" Effie chimed in, a huge smile on her face, as she tried to sit despite the amount of tulle or whatever fabric her dress was made of.

Haymitch shook his head, before sipping his coffee, still looking at Peeta and Katniss, clearly expecting an answer.

"So, lovebirds. The song? What, where, who?"

"Careless Whisper. In my bedroom. Us." Katniss answered, before tearing down a cinnamon roll. "These are so good!"

"I thought you favored the cheese buns?" Peeta asked.

"I usually do, but your dad isn't here to make them, so…"

"I make the cheese buns … Dad's been asking for my recipe for ages."

"Really? They are awesome! The oregano-"

"If you guys are done with your food porn, can we move on to a more serious subject? The song?" Haymitch chimed in.

It was Peeta who turned to him. "Mike Henry sent music; we listened to it yesterday when we came back and wrote the lyrics. That's all."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Katniss shrugged.

"Okay." Haymitch took a deep breath. "What's the catch?"

"Why do you assume there would be a catch?" she asked, her trademark scowl appearing on her face. Wasn't their mentor happy that they had a song, that they could sing on Saturday evening?

"There's always a catch. Is it bad, like really bad?"

"It's pretty good actually." said Peeta, taking a bit of a cinnamon roll. "These didn't rise enough, it could have used ten more minutes."

"So when are you going to show it to me?"

"When we've finished breakfast." Peeta licked his fingers, unaware of the look Katniss gave him at this simple movement, or of the blush that she could feel creeping up her cheeks. She quickly took a sip of her coffee, hoping the movement would hide her face.

"Look who's being all sassy in the morning…." Haymitch grumbled under his breath.

"Well, well, you are cleared not to attend the second semi final tonight!" Effie said, putting aside the phone nobody had noticed her typing on. "John just confirmed it."

Peeta and Katniss exchanged a look over the table, at which Katniss nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Actually, Effie, we would like to go. You know, hold our heads high in front of them, be the stronger ones. Show them we don't fear them."

"Oh, but my, Katniss! This will take an enormous amount of time and lots of apologies! I'm not even sure I can do it!" In a very un-Effie move, she slammed her hand on the table clearly upset at her words.

"You're the only one who could do it. We're a team, right?" Katniss asked, squeezing Effie's hand.

If the red carpet on Tuesday had been crazy, tonight was over the top. As soon as Katniss and Peeta stepped out of their car in matching outfits, her red dress sporting tiny black lace underneath while his black suit had stips of red on the lapels and cuffs, the crowd outside the Snow Center went completely mad.

It didn't help that they were both laughing, not caring in the slightest if there were people around as they remembered the look on Haymitch's face when he realized the song was a ballad. "A ballad! Are you crazy? D12 has never sung a ballad, ever! You want us to lose?" He was so flushed, his cheeks so red that both Katniss and Peeta burst out laughing, and a simple remark on the color of her dress matching the old man's cheeks was enough to send them both into another fit.

It was only when they were in front of Caesar Flickerman that they managed to keep their laughter at bay.

"My, my, my, I'm very happy to have Everlark with me! Katniss, Peeta, how are you doing during such tragic times?"

"Good evening Caesar, we are thrilled to see the second semi-final and can't wait for Saturday evening!"

"But Peeta, there were … rumors that your song would be banned from the contest?"

"Oh you know how things are, Cesar. It appears some people think the song we were supposed to perform was a copy of an old one, I can't tell. Maybe it is, maybe not. So we submitted a new song to the jury this morning, just in case."

"Oh, but this is wonderful! When will we know which song you'll sing?"

Peeta looked at Katniss. She came closer to the mic, wedging herself between the railing and her partner. "Well, Caesar, you'll have to be there on Saturday!"

"Oh, very well, Katniss! I can wait, even if it's so unbearable!" He leaned closer to the two singers, his very blue hair almost brushing her nose. "Now, can you tell us a little secret?" The journalist looked around, making sure he was as discreet as Effie. "There are pictures of you dining together, what can you tell me about them? Aren't you both a little more than friends?"

Katniss silently thanked Effie for having her wear make-up that could hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. She turned on her most angelic smile before she turned to Peeta, who in sync faced her, winking quickly before they both looked at Cesar, smiling. "We're friends, Caesar. Sorry, I think we are expected inside…"

"Of course, of course!" The blue-haired man turned to the camera, extending his hand towards Katniss and Peeta, who were waving kindly. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have had the pleasure of chatting with the wonderful duo from District 12, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"

Katniss felt the warmth of Peeta's hand on her back as he led her from Flickerman to the entry of the Snow Center, avoiding the other reporters wanting to talk to them. She was thankful to have him at her side to navigate the high waters of the press. He had told her who to talk to, who to avoid like the plague, not to stop at everybody asking, rather to spend time with fans - which all security details in the world hated but was his favorite thing to do.

She realized suddenly how good it felt to be by his side, how comforting it was to not walk this road on her own, being stopped and having to answer all the same questions. It still felt strange to be here, in this arena with millions of people watching in their homes, but she was able to relax thanks to the fact they weren't singing that evening, in addition to the soothing of Peeta's presence besides her.

He had this effect on almost everybody. Calming, soothing, a strong and constant force against the tempest outside. Not that she wasn't strong enough to fend for herself, mind you, but she came to realize that sometimes, not fighting on her own could be good too.

And still, throughout the whole walk on the red carpet, through the hallways of the Snow Center, until they reached their couch in the green room, his hand remained on the small of her back, never leaving, tracing small, calming circles.

The other three contestants who had automatically qualified came to greet them, in different shades of warming. D1 was clearly upset to see them there, whispering that it wasn't their place, and would soon be out - permanently.

"Well, it seems that we found out who wants us out."

The candidate was a muscular blonde man named Cato Something, from what Katniss could remember. He was leaner than Peeta, his shirt opened to put his six pack clearly on display.

"He's hoping for the teenage girls' vote, I can see." Peeta whispered into Katniss's ear, pointing to the excess of skin being showed.

"I thought you already had the teenage girls' vote, Peeta!"

"Do you want me to go shirtless?" he asked, winking, his hands starting to remove his black jacket.

"Oh my god, Peeta!" Katniss's hand went to her mouth, trying to hide her giggles. Because apparently, that was another of his superpowers : to make Katniss Everdeen, also known as the girl who wore an almost permanent scowl on her face, giggle. And laugh. Or get her mad. Depending on the context.

"What? You don't think I can be a match for this guy? And we need the teenage girls' vote, right?"

"I'm quite sure Effie won't like it…"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Won't you like it?"

"Won't I like what?" she asked, wondering where he was going with his questions.

"If I go shirtless?" Without another word, he pulled his jacket off his shoulders, leaving him in only a pale blue shirt.

"Peeta! Stop that! Keep your clothes on !"

"Trouble in paradise?" a very smiling Petra - the hostess again - asked, smirking. "Wow, Peeta, wanna give us a show? I thought that was what Mans was here for, you know?" It seemed to Katniss that she was sporting a constant blush on her cheeks now, and the insinuation of more naked men didn't help her.

"What do you think Katniss? Mans, Cato or Peeta?"

"Well, I only saw half of Cato's skin, but too much of Mans, I'll go for Peeta? That's the safe choice if I want to sing on Saturday, Petra!"

"So you only picked me for my singing skills?" Peeta chimed in, a small smirk on his lips. He was so good at these interviews, words flowing from his mouth like honey, charming everybody around.

"Well, why else would I want to pick you up?" Katniss asked, her voice suddenly all sultry. Two could play the flirting game.

"I don't know? My stunning good look ? My sparkling personality? My big-"

"Peeta! Shut up!" Katniss tried to quiet her partner by putting her hand in front of his mouth, only to be met by a small kiss on her palm.

He gently moved her hand away from his face, twining their fingers together before he turned his attention towards Petra, smiling. "I was about to say, when I got so impolitely cut off, my big knowledge about cheese buns. They are her favorite," he went on, nodding at Katniss.

Petra had a very special smile as she turned to Katniss, again. "So, Katniss, you like Peeta's buns?"

"What? Oh my!"

"This conversation is not going at all where it should!" Peeta laughed.

"Can't blame me, we all want to know whether you're more than friends, ya'know?" Petra winked. "Alas, I have to leave you two lovelies, as I see a dancing penguin on the stage, and we don't want to repeat that scene, right?"

Petra headed to the stage where a tuxedo-dressed Mans was pretending to do the Penguin's walk, to the crowd's delight, leaving Peeta and Katniss away from the cameras for a few minutes.

"My god Peeta! You can't say things like that on television! People are watching us! Now they will think …. Things!"

"I didn't say anything bad. It's just a matter of them interpreting my words. Remember, it's the people behind the screen that vote for this contest … so if we can make them want to vote for us, then I'm all in. You were perfect, by the way."

"Perfect? I made a fool of myself! A little warning, next time?"

"I can do that," Peeta winked again, making Katniss laugh.

"And stop winking! People will think, you know?"

"And that would be bad?"

With just one question, he had turned the conversation from light and funny to serious and full of expectation, his eyes so much darker than their usual light blue, all traces of laughter having left his face.

"What would be?"

"Flirting?"

"We are not flirting! We're friends!" Katniss said, turning her attention towards the stage, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore. They were just friends, right? New friends, even. There was no way deeper feelings existed. Right ?

The room around them started to clap, as the first performance was finally over. A perky curly haired blonde was jumping in the room, over-excited in her sparkling silver shorts, holding her district flag in her hands. She stopped in front of Peeta.

"Oh my god, it's you! I love you so much!" she shouted before leaning forward and planting a kiss on his lips.

"Whoa" Peeta's hands went straight to the teenage's waist, pushing her away, but the perky blonde wasn't finished, deciding to sit besides him, so close, her thighs were touching his.

"I'm such a huge fan of the Rebels! Mind if I ask for your autograph?"

"They are waiting for you at your table, back there, you know?" Peeta said, moving away from the girl.

"I'm Laura. Laura - Peeta, it ends the same way, so we are meant to get along. See!"

Katniss saw Peeta trying to back-up from the invading girl, as Laura was rather insistent on trying to climb on his lap. Without thinking, Katniss stood up, letting Peeta fall behind, while she passed in front of him, to sit on his other side.

Making sure Peeta was fine, she turned to the girl.

"You listen, girlie. If you think parading with Peeta will give you votes, you are wrong. People will see you as a lunatic little girl who has a crush on a singer. Not someone who could defend her District's honor. Now if you can't behave, go back to mommy and ask for etiquette lessons. I repeat, people are waiting for you back there."

It was only when Laura rose from the couch, her face white as paper that Katniss realized that she was holding the girl's wrist in an iron grip.

The rest of the semi-final was almost normal, according to Districtvision standards. Pirates and vampires, howling men and teenagers pretending they could do rock, and a disturbing lack of glitter.

Petra and Mans, though, delivered a beautiful masterpiece, explaining the story of Districtvision to an audience who was absolutely amazed by their singing and dancing skills.

"I would vote for them" Peeta whispered in Katniss's ear, as the two hosts were finishing their number.

"They are pretty good, yeah. But I didn't get who's Conchita? What beard? Bird ?"

"That you shall see, young Padawan."

"Come on, Peeta, you know something!" Katniss whispered back, as one after the other Districts appeared on the screen. So far, the pirates and vampires were in, no luck for the howling men or garage-band teenagers.

"Is your new girlfriend in?" she finally asked.

"What are you talking about ? I don't have a girlfriend!"

"Blondie? Silver Sparkling Barbie?" Katniss asked, sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Are you jealous, Katniss?"

"Of that kid? You're seriously asking me that?" She was amazed.

"I am." there was a twinkle in Peeta's eye, a light in his blue eyes, challenging her to answer.

"What would I be jealous of? She made a fool of herself and can't sing in tune."

"You would be stunning in that glittering silver, though, much more than her.."

"Har, har, you're hilarious." Katniss didn't turn to look at her partner, her eyes staring at the screen with the district's numbers on. "Na, she didn't make it through. Yet." She never saw the look Peeta gave her in return.

"There's one spot left," he added, looking at the large screen.

And sure enough within seconds, Silver Bouncing Laura's name was called, earning her the last spot in the final.

"There she is…." Peeta added. "I bet she'll be all over Cato tomorrow to create buzz."

"How do you know that?" Katniss asked, surprised.

"That's the world of PR, Sweetheart."

"What do you mean?"

"Create buzz? Make people talk about them? So they get votes?" Peeta answered, as he was putting on his black jacket.

He never saw the surprise morphing into hurt on Katniss's face.

She had just realized it was exactly what they had been doing for the last days.

Create the buzz.

Have people talk about them.

Only so they could get votes.

* * *

I know, a cliffhanger, right?

My deepest thanks, again to akai-echo for the gorgeous banner and to ct522 & xerxia for their help in the story :)

I'm curious... did anyone find the song Katniss and Peeta were supposed to sing?

PLease leave a comment if you liked / hated :)


	3. The Final

Relativity . An interesting concept, complex to understand at times, when at other moments it's so obvious. That night had been the best example. The three hours long show had passed in a flash, while the ten minutes drive to the hotel seemed to have taken two infinities.

The air was tense, thick, and Katniss couldn't put enough space between her and Peeta, couldn't put enough silence as an answer to his endless questions, asking her why she suddenly didn't talk to him anymore.

She was hurt, feeling betrayed, wounded. She had started believing they were friends, that they could have a good time, that maybe, maybe she had been wrong in her first assertion of him.

Apparently not.

He was there to win, whatever the cost . Even if it was her pride, her will, herself he had to stomp onto. She had been foolish enough to believe his honeyed words, to fall for his easy manners, his dimpled smile and his blue eyes. Stupid, stupid stupid, her brains were screaming. How could she be fooled so easily?

"Katniss? What happened? Talk to me."

Keep dreaming, buddy, I'm not going to talk to you. Ever again, she thought. Why would time not pass? Why was the traffic packed with people, cheering on each official car they could see, trying to peek inside to spot whether or not it was their favorite singer sitting in the back.

Katniss was grateful for the dark glasses of the car, that would not allow anyone to look inside, but she could see through them - anything was better than turning to face Peeta.

She only wanted to go back to her hotel, pack her things and leave, even though she knew it was impossible. She couldn't go away like this, right now. She wasn't ready to face the consequences of such an act. She would stay, they would lose the contest, and then she could go home, forget this ever happen, and never ever wear anything sparkling in her whole life.

Finally, finally, they reached their hotel, where another herd of paparazzi were lining next to the entry, their cameras ready to take as much pictures as they could in the span of time it would take to get into the hallway. Sighing, Katniss waited until the doorman opened her door before rushing inside, avoiding the flashes as much as possible - which, thankfully, had been her habit since the first day.

It always was Peeta that stayed a bit longer, taking photos, being used to the decorum of the show business.

She was in the elevator before he entered the hotel.

She was in her room, door locked, having avoided the bubbling Effie and drunk Haymitch who asked her where Peeta was, how the evening went, and what the fuck was she doing rushing to her room, in no particular order.

Once the door was locked, she crumpled on the floor, losing all pretence at keeping up the act. Fat tears started to fall from her eyes, taking with them her make-up in rivulets, down her cheeks. She let her head fall into her arms, trying to hide from herself, from the hurt she was feeling. She ignored the knocks on the door from Effie and Haymitch, not wanting to be disturbed.

Betrayal hurt a lot.

The question was, why was she hurting?

Why was the pain so raw, over losing someone she had known only for a few days, with whom she almost shared nothing but a few words.

Because these words seemed so true. Because she believed she saved his life the way he did hers, because she believed they were friends, because she believed they could be more -

Wait a minute, her mind screamed suddenly, as a muffle sound resonated on the door.

"Katniss, I know you're inside."

Peeta's voice came from the other side of the door, and despite the thick width of it, she could hear the concern laced in his tone, the worry, even.

"Tell me what happened? Is this about the girl?"

"What girl?" Katniss heard Haymitch's voice from the living room, shouting all the way to Peeta. "If you need to wet your parts, boy, you can wait a few days more. We have a show to win."

She didn't answer. She didn't want to answer him, to give him the satisfaction of thinking he could reach her.

"Katniss, please? What's going on?" Yeah, he was pleading now. Probably doing the puppy eyed show, hoping she would get through.

She wouldn't.

She was hurting.

Too much.

Because all his moves, all his kind words were lies, lies he told her, lies she foolishly believed. His hand on her back, the sweet kisses on her cheeks - why did she allow him to kiss her in the first place?

And why was she still crying? She should be angry, mad, throwing things at him, not crying in her hotel room over something that shouldn't matter. Because crying? That was so not her thing.

She never cried anymore, not since her dad has passed away, not since she forgot what it was like to love and be loved.

She still could hear her name being called through the door, even though he wasn't even knocking on it. She pretended she didn't notice how sad and hurt he sounded, nor the resounding "thump", the very same way she did when she slumped against the door.

She could have moved away to the large bed awaiting her, or the armchair nearby, even into the bathroom a few meters away. She stayed exactly where she was, aware he was mimicking her on the other side of the door, knowing he was there, even if it hurt her much more. The door was so thin yet so thick, a barrier between them.

"I don't know what happened, Katniss, if I did anything wrong, I'm sorry. I really am. Please tell me what I can do to make it better? What did I do to upset you?"

You played with me! She wanted to scream, to shout at him, wanted all her sadness to get through the door, to hit him hard in the heart - if he had one, which right now she very much doubted. She had been stupid enough to believe his words, to become his friend…

Friends? Were they ever something else than two people from the same district, singing together? She had thought they were, foolishly letting him come closer to her heart, foolishly believing they could be friends.

Foolish.

She didn't know how long she remained, seated against the door, her head on her arms, her heart broken. The light was long gone in the streets, the quiet murmur of the night having taken over the Districtvision folly, having replaced the sparkling lasers by the soothing beams of the moon, tears having taken over the joy and laughs.

Katniss climbed into bed, not caring the slightest to undress, before letting sleep take her over.

She couldn't stay in her room forever, and she knew it. After havingbreakfast brought to her room, taking a very long time to shower and dress, talking to Prim on the phone, she had to go out eventually. They had a rehearsal scheduled in the morning, and were expected by Portia and Cinna later on, to get the last details on their outfits for tomorrow.

Only Katniss didn't know how she could stand to be next to Peeta for a complete day.

She hadn't talked about her turmoil on the phone with Prim, hadn't wanted to drag her sister into her pitiful life, into the mistake she had made with trusting Peeta.

She finally gathered enough courage to get out of the room, not wanting Effie or Haymitch to come bang on her door to get her out. One humiliation per day was enough.

"Look who's decided to grace us poor humans with her presence today?" Haymitch's snarky voice was full on this morning. He appeared in the living-room. "It's not like we have a schedule to follow! Hope you're ready, sweetheart!"

Katniss looked around to see Peeta was already there, sadness and worry clearly etched on his face. His eyes were circled with the lack of sleep - much like hers she noted - his hair even more mussled than usual, and he sported a stubble. A stubble. It was the first time in the weeks they'd spent side by side that she had seen him unshaven she noticed in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Can we go?" Katniss said, holding her jean jacket closer to her chest.

"Well, looks like the two of you are in a sunny disposition, today. This is going to be fun." The flask made another appearance in his hands.

They started their descent, Katniss carefully avoiding being next to Peeta in any way, until Haymitch stopped the elevator, pushing the emergency button before turning to the two singers.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you need to clear the air before tomorrow evening on stage. You" he pointed directly at Katniss. "Apologize for whatever you did to him. And you" It was now Peeta's turn to be on the spot "do whatever it takes to improve this situation."

Katniss mumbled under her breath. Why did Haymitch always assume it was her fault?

"What did you say, Sweetheart? Is this 'sorry' that I heard?"

"No" Katniss replied. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why are you both acting like children? There are paparazzi outside, and that's not the image we want to give!" Haymitch answered, turning towards the closed door of the elevator. "Will you be able to pretend you like each other?"

"We know what to do, Haymitch, we're professionals." Peeta answered, his voice raw.

"You're not the one I'm afraid of, kid." Haymitch looked at Katniss pointedly. She sighed, letting her arms fall down along her body - and her jacket on the floor. Before she could do anything, Peeta crunched down to grab it from the floor, before standing up and looking at the piece of fabric in his hands, not really sure what to do with it.

Before she could think longer than what was necessary, Katniss held her hand to grab her jacket, as Peeta gave it back to her. Out of habit and years of correcting her sister for good manners, she whispered a "Thank you" that lit up Peeta's face, and brought a small smile on his lips.

"Well?" Haymitch's voice was cold as ice. "Can the two of you behave in front of the press?" he asked, piercing eyes looking straight at them, first at Katniss then at Peeta

"Then you want to appear closer than you are now. And smile. You're friends, remember."

The pair looked at each other before they moved a little closer to one another, leaving a good two feet of space between them.

"Wow, don't get too close, it's getting too hot here!" Haymitch sighed. "We're not leaving this elevator unless you two appear as friends. I have all the time." he added, taking his flask out of his inside pocket, and a cinnamon roll from another pocket.

Katniss watched as Peeta wobbled on one foot, then the other, running his hand in his hair, before he tentatively took a step closer to her, putting his hands in the pocket of his jeans. She knew the last step was hers to make, but she couldn't find it in her to do it, to be closer to him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know if I can do it…."

"Then you have to explain yourself, Sweetheart" Haymitch answered Katniss. "Cause yesterday you both seemed all cozied up. So unless Baker Boy here didn't deliver, I don't know what happened between the two of you. And we won't get out of here until the air is cleared. So spill it, Everdeen."

"Why do you assume it's me?" Katniss asked. "Maybe he did something wrong?"

"Me? I didn't do a thing!" Peeta answered, apparently shocked at Katniss's assumption.

"Of course, you're the perfect one! But I wasn't the one who fooled anyone into believing this person was my friend just to win a contest!"

"And when exactly did I do that?" Peeta answered his partner, dumbfounded.

Katniss couldn't believe her ears, he didn't even remembered? She felt her face flaming with anger, not only at the blatant insult of his words, but also because he didn't even remember causing her pain.

"Yesterday evening when you admitted that your girlfriend would be all over Cato today!"

"What ?" Peeta looked between Katniss and Haymitch, exchanging glances of misunderstanding. "What are you talking about, Katniss?"

She took in a deep breath, to try to calm her racing pulse, which was taken her tothe edge of breaking down right in the middle of the elevator.

"Yesterday. You told me your girlfriend would be all over Cato to get votes. To create the buzz. Remember now? Doesn't it remind you anything? Asshole!"

Peeta's face blanched at her words, or at the insult, she couldn't tell. She saw him taking a few steps back until he hit the wall of the elevator.

"What are you talking about, Katniss? Care to explain to the third part, Mellark?" Haymitch chimed in, downing another sip of his flask.

"No! I never … Oh, my god, that's what you thought? I'm so sorry, Katniss! It wasn't like that at all!"

"Wasn't like what?" Haymitch asked, irritation starting to rise in his voice, as he was licking the excess of sugar and cinnamon from his fingers. "Explain."

"Well, I said that, yes, but I was talking about Cato and that girl, you know? You know Cato, Haymitch, he will do anything he can to win, even pretend he's in love with anyone if it can give him votes. And that girl is just the same…. But I never meant this for us, Katniss! Never!"

Katniss could feel the pleading in his eyes, the same she could hear in his voice as he looked straight into her, begging her to understand.

"I can't even begin to understand how you feel, Katniss. I'm so, so sorry. I apologize for what I said, for the hurt it made you feel, but I swear, it wasn't for us. We're friends, and I cherish this friendship more than you can even imagine, more than a lot of thing in my life. And I never, never wanted you to believe I could think that little of you. That you could think I would play with you."

"That's all?" Haymitch asked, getting rid of the last bits of sugar remaining on his fingers wiping them on his trousers. "You really believed that Peeta could treat you like that? Are you completely blind or foolish, Sweetheart? After everything he did?"

Katniss looked up from the floor she'd been staring at, trying to meet Haymitch's glance, but feeling revulsion at him still licking his fingers, choosing instead to look at Peeta. His eyes were rimmed, circled with a dark shade, exhaustion clear on his face as well as the sorrow, the hurt, the pain, the honesty of his words. As if she was seeing him - really seeing him for the first time, without any makeup or barrier. Raw. hurting. Begging for forgiveness.

She started to think back to the day before, to everything that had happened between her and Peeta lately. He could have played along with Silver Bouncing Bitch, but chose to step away from her. Never once did he answer the numerous attempts at flirting that were thrown at him by passers by, hosts or journalists, always keeping his distance. He took care of getting them out of the press's eyes, out of hearing as soon as he could. Protecting them. Protecting her.

How could she have doubted him, she wondered? She knew the answer, years of betrayal weighing heavily on her shoulders, years of distrust making her feel weary of anyone coming closer. Yet she had trusted him, and instead of asking for explanations, she had run away, hiding from everybody, turning to herself in a vain attempt at protecting herself.

She had been wrong.

She knew it.

She saw the moment he understood what was going through her mind - that she had been stupid, that she didn't stop to think about what had happened - as he started to smile, straightening a little.

She closed the few feet between them, letting her hand fall on his arm before she whispered.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Peeta, really. I….." She looked away, ashamed. "I should have talked to you, or ask for an explanation… i'm sorry I hurt you- …."

She was unable to talk more, finding herself engulfed in a hug, hearing his apologies whispered against her ear. But she was unable to answer him, lost in the comfort of his arms, the smoothness of his shirt under her cheeks, breathing in the sweetness of his scent.

"Well, if you two start getting kissy kissy, I will throw up, you know?" Haymitch interrupted their moment, and as soon as Katniss pulled away from Peeta's embrace, she saw the small smirk adorning his face.

"Do you have to be this disgusting all the time?" she asked.

"I'm just being my natural charming self." he answered, shrugging. "Now, if you two have made up, can we go out? Some people have work to do."

"Yeah, sure, besides laying in bed snoring?" Katniss said, feeling relieved almost, at Peeta's hand on the small of her back.

"Someone's got to go to the committee while you two play singers, right?"

"Sure. We wouldn't want you near anything electric. So many sparkles, it's too dangerous." Peeta added.

"You're hilarious, the two of you. Well, shall we go?"

They looked at each other, before Katniss turned and answered simply.

"Yes".

Nothing they had seen before could have prepared them for the sight in front of them, outside the safe heaven that the hotel was. Hundreds of persons were lined against the barriers on both sides of the entry, shouting her and Peeta's name, brandishing posters and cards for them to sign. Katniss looked for a pen to try and please as many people as possible, knowing she had one stored in the pocket of her jacket just in case, when her fingers brushed against something foreign.

She stopped in her tracks, quickly removing the thing out of her pocket - a simple piece of paper, carefully folded in four.

Katniss slowly undid it, until her eyes found what was on the paper, eliciting a small "oh" her hand tried to cover when it came to her mouth, as tears poured in her eyes.

On the white paper, a brown haired teenage girl was handing a dandelion to a sad looking blonde boy.

Time had stopped, or maybe sped up, Katniss couldn't tell. She was moving through a haze of people and noise, of lights and sounds when all she was craving for was a bit of calm in a dimly lit room. She needed to process what had just happened - the elevator part, and the drawing. The painfully beautiful drawing, reminding her of many years ago filled with so much pain, with so much tears.

A period when a boy had given her hope, but more than hope, had given her life. Maybe it wasn't a meal that could be served in the best restaurants, but that night, those loaves of bread had been the sweetest meal she had ever tasted.

The paper was like a furnace in the pocket of her jacket. She craved to touch it, feel it, be sure it was still there, like a memory escaped from the past that she had had the will to bring back. An echo of a time that she couldn't forget. Maybe didn't want to forget.

"Katniss, you there?" Peeta touched her arm, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I just zoned out."

"Are you ready? It's our turn next." he asked, taking his hand off her, as if it could have burnt her.

Since the talk in the elevator, they were back on talking grounds, without having yet been able to completely clear the air between them, to erase the remnants of tension still lingering.

Katniss walked towards the large stage, in the now empty Snow Center, taking her mic from an assistant nearby, almost chocking up when she saw it was all covered in pink glitter. Pink. Glitter. She sighed, looking at Peeta who was holding a golden one, similar in glittering.

Maybe it wasn't pink. Rather lavender and dandelion, Effie would say.

Whatever.

The music started, the loud sound of a sax coming through the speakers, echoing in the empty ranks.

Katniss grabbed her mic firmly, getting ready to sing, looking at her singing partner on the other side of the stage, half hidden behind the curtains.

Katniss and Peeta had decided they would each enter from one side of the scene, having to redo all the choreography that had been decided previously for a much happier song.

Peeta was the first to come in, his voice strong as usual. Hundreds of concerts all over the world had given him a confidence that Katniss felt she was lacking, as the cramps of the stage frightwere starting to take over. She forced herself to take deep, stomach breaths, trying to focus on steadying her diaphragm's somehow erratic movements.

She missed her entry, came onto stage a bit too late, running afterwards to catch up with the song, which resulted in stage fright taking over, leaving her with a weak, unsteady voice.

To say the rehearsal as a failure was an understatement.

Katniss couldn't stop blushing at the shame she felt for singing so badly, for being totally unable to move on stage, paralysed by a fear she never encountered before.

"It's okay, Katniss, we still have time. It was the first rehearsal after all…" Katniss heard Peeta's whispers through the noise around the Snow Center, as they left the stage. The contestants for the second part of the show were slowly gathering to start their own rehearsals, coming slowly in the backstage.

"We are going to lose, and it will be because of me…" She said back, pretending not to see Cato's mocking laugh as he pointed at them.

"If we lose, it's going to be because of the person who reported whatever crap about Wake me Up. Haymitch has a lot of flaws, but he's not a cheater."

"But why would anyone do that?" KAtniss asked, surprised. "It's just Districtvision…"

"It's not just Districtvision. It's notoriety for a District for a whole year, you know? And D1 is particularly good at that, they like to shine .. so maybe we were too dangerous this year."

"Dangerous? The song was crazy!"

Katniss saw Peeta smile, as she felt the now familiar shape of his hand on the small of her back, before adding.

"The best song doesn't always win. It's all about the impression you make… we need to be unforgettable."

"So it's not real?"

"It's as real as you want it to be, Katniss." Peeta turned his head, looking around, obviously searching for something. "There. Cato and Laura. That's not real." he said, nodding his head towards the two blondes who were all over each other, kissing each other in front of a small dozen of photographers.

"This" Peeta added, as he moved his hand between himself and Katniss "is very real. When the show will be over, I have every intent of still being around you - if you allow it."

Katniss looked around, spotting several other photographers strategically placed - one was taking a pic of two contestants looking at the same tablet, a cup of coffee in hand, another one was apparently signalling a woman to go back and walk towards him without looking at his camera.

Everything was staged. Done to get votes.

She felt a shiver running down her spine again, as the first thoughts of being used came back to her mind.

"No, Katniss, I'm not using you, remember? I'll be done with music after tomorrow evening."

"But why? It seems like you enjoy singing when we're on stage?"

"Because I sing with you. Shall we go? I think Portia and Cinna are waiting for us."

Katniss hoped he didn't feel the small jolt she felt at his words. He was enjoying himself because he was singing with HER ? what did that even mean?

She wasn't given much time to think as some photographer put himself in their ways, flashing what seemed to be a thousand of pictures of them walking side by side.

That's when Katniss remembered Peeta's hand still on her back, as if it was its normal place.

To Effie's delight, they made the news, again.

To Haymitch's horror, they made the news, again.

The social networks went wild for two things. The utter horror that had been their rehearsal, and the utter obvious display of affection shown between Peeta and Katniss, him with his hand on her back, her whispering into his ear, and seemingly hiding in his shoulder.

After an exhausting afternoon of staying completely still, trying on dress after dress that all looked similar to her but apparently had different details in lace or whatsoever, a very heavy modded dinner where Haymitch spent his time asking what was wrong with her singing, his stress, their performance, wondering whether they should throw the bucket in already, Katniss found herself in her room, alone, ashamed, unable to find sleep.

Guilt had taken over.

She had failed every body. Her partner, her mentor, her family, her district.

There was no way, with a performance like the one they gave, that they could enter the top 10. Or the top 20 for all it mattered.

She had to step up her game, to get over that fear that took her over, for her district, for her family, for her mentor, her partner…. For herself.

Time passed, sleep never came.

The silence in her room became too loud.

Night. Always a good friend, she thought with irony, as she walked out of her room. The lights were turned off in the living room of the suite, even though the ruckhaus outside, the frenzy of the people gathering in the street below to celebrate the Districtvision was still visible from the large bow windows - and audible.

Katniss was seated on the little comfortable bench, an afghan draped over her bare legs, taking in the colorful scene down on the street, wondering how she would be able to sleep for even a few minutes.

She could hear people singing, or rooting for their districts in a peaceful competition, as the fireworks took over.

"It's beautiful, right?" Peeta whispered, looking at the brazen sky from the door of the living room, watching as the fires in the sky made wheels and exploded. "It's like stars are crying or something…. I've always loved fireworks."

"I didn't hear you come in …."

"I couldn't sleep …."

"I can't either." Katniss said, turning her eyes towards Peeta, still standing in the doorjamb. "It's so weird, they are celebrating the contest.."

"Why weird? It's not something bad - "

"No, no, I just find it weird that people would gather together for a song contest, you know?"

"Better to gather for that rather than for seeing teenagers murdering each other …"

"I guess…." Katniss turned her head to look at Peeta. "So you couldn't sleep?"

"Na, I tossed and turned, I just … things kept passing through my head.. I'm so sorry, Katniss, really - I never thought you would think I could use you."

Katniss nodded - she had over-reacted, she knew it, knew also she should have talked to Peeta, cleared the air between them. He truly was a nice guy, even with his celebrity status. She couldn't remember why she started hating him in the first place, some jealousy over his position, over winning this contest so many times ago.

She had realized something this morning, as she sang on the stage - she wasn't sure she was made for that job either. She had never been paralyzed with fear in her life before, and was realizing the pressure Peeta had been under all these years. Filling stadiums, making the music people expected - not the one he wanted - the buzz around the stage, dealing with fans, assistants and rivals singers. She wasn't sure she was cut out for this kind of life - to be honest, she was perfectly happy with filling small venues, being free to create the music she loved.

Maybe the star-system wasn't made for either of them.

She moved her legs, bending them to leave some space on the bench of the bow-window for him to sit down, as she waved at him to come over.

A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he moved over, sitting down in front of her.

Peeta looked through the large windows at the crowd below, still cheering and dancing in the street.

"How do you know I sleep with the windows opened?" he whispered, his eyes lingering on the party so many floors down.

"How do you know I hunt?"

"You first." Peeta finally lifted his gaze from the street below to meet her eyes, shining like dark diamonds in the night.

The blue of his eyes was piercing, like a cloudless sky in a summer day.

Katniss backed away from the stare, letting her look drift away in the living room, knowing somehow it would be easier to answer if she wasn't staring into his eyes.

"I could see you sometimes, when I came back from the woods. I knew your room was at the back. The windows was always opened when I walked by early in the mornings." she whispered, almost shyly. Did she just admit she had kept track of him? What did it even mean to her, that she knew of these things? That beyond knowing he slept with his windows opened, she knew he always double-knotted his shoes, how he drank his tea, or even that apple tart with cinnamon were his favorite treat from the bakery.

"How do you know I hunt?" Katniss asked quietly.

"I could see you heading to the woods in the mornings, on the Saturdays and Sundays, with your friend. You had a bow. I doubt it was for archery practice you know…"

She chuckled. And here they thought they had been discreet in their going out of town to hunt in the woods, providing meat for their families.

"Guess we weren't that subtle, right?"

"Well, I can't say I was either, you know?" Peeta answered, a smirk on his face.

" , You were, I never saw you watching me these mornings…" Katniss answered.

Peeta took in a deep breath, his eyes leaving Katniss's, turning onto the street, again.

"I always watched you, Katniss. I had the biggest crush on you back then."

"What?" Katniss was stunned, the revelation beating in her head, echoing in her heart, just like waves getting bigger with each breath that passed after.

"I've always thought that we could be good together…" he whispered

"That we could be good together? You and me?" Katniss shook her head in disbelief. "We've been friends for two days? How can you say that? Here? Now? Have you lost your mind?"

He smiled feebly, almost shyly.

"I did. Seventeen years ago, when you started singing The Valley Song, in Miss Wentworth's class."

"Peeta…" Katniss could feel his gaze staring into her soul, making its way inside of her. How could he remember this? They were so young?

"You were wearing a red dress, and had your hair in two braids. And when you sang, I swear, even the birds stopped to listen to you."

"Peeta, you can't be serious? It was a stupid kid's crush, nothing more …" she tried to argue, remembering the shy little chubby blonde boy from these days. And the cookies that she sometimes found on her desk, that she was sure he left there.

"I was never someone special, there's no way you can feel something towards me. I'm nothing, Peeta, no one!"

"You're way more than you give yourself credit for, Katniss… you sustained your family for how long?"

"It was the right thing to do…"

"Don't you think I noticed you getting thinner and thinner? Never eating lunch? Almost fainting in the hallways? I'm a coward, I- …"

"It was you, the cookies?"

"I never stopped watching you. I never stopped feeling my heart stop at the sight of you… Do you know you have four moles on the back of your neck ? I do. Because I drew your neck more times than I can count when I was sitting behind you in Math class."

"It was you? The cookies?" Katniss asked again.

Peeta sighed, moving his head from left to right before he nodded.

"So you gave me food!" Katniss could feel her anger rising. "That's what I was to you? Your charity case?"

"Haven't you heard a word of what I said?" Peeta answered, suddenly climbing down the bench of the bow window, starting to pace in front of her. "You were never a charity case! Never ! I saw you, thinning away, losing that sparkle of life. What was I supposed to do ? Let the girl I was in love with die away when she had saved my life ?"

Katniss saw the fear in his eyes, followed by something else she wasn't able to place, something so sweet it could make her heart melt.

She watched him as he approached her, so close she thought he would kiss her - and no she had no clue where this thought came from. She wanted to pull away, and blend into the wall, disappear from his reach, not out of fear he would hurt her - Peeta Mellark wouldn't hurt a fly - but out of fear of her reaction to him.

A few days ago, she was sure she would have fled if he had even tried to come that close to her. Today, she was sure it wouldn't happen - but what would she do if he leaned a bit closer …

He didn't.

She followed his hand as it came to her face, a barely whisper against her flesh, as his fingers gently took a strand of loose hair to tuck it behind her ear, before, with a last look at her, he turned and left the room, leaving Katniss alone, with the shouts of the crowd below.

Flashes. Lights. Lasers dancing in the sky.

Shouts. Screams. Noise everywhere.

The Final of the Districtvision Song Contest had begun.

Katniss watched as the crowd of spectators slowly moved towards the entry of Snow Center. The contestants were all gathered in a large room, , with their stage costumes on, an army of hairdressers, dress designers, and makeup artists running around to correct a strand of hair here, put a tad of mascara there, or be sure the amount of sequins was over the limit.

She felt Peeta coming closer to her, his hand finding her back, again, in a movement so natural to him now. He stood beside her, looking at the lines of people cheering on the other side of the tinted windows.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm sorry I scared you off." Peeta whispered. "I didn't mean to tell you…" Taking a deep breath, he went on. "But well, now you know this whole thing was never for something else than you."

"Now I know." Katniss said, replaying Peeta's reaction after he had confessed his love for her the previous night. Her first reaction had been to run away, hide in her room, lock the door, and try to forget anything had happened.

Until she realized she was tired of running away, of avoiding the good and bad things in her life. And maybe Peeta could be a good thing.

Sleep had finally claimed her, on this bow-window, exhaustion catching up with her emotions, with everything that had happened, and would happen the next night.

She never understood how she woke up in her bed, under the same Afghan. She knew she wasn't a sleep walker.

"You're a good person, Peeta, really. I'm glad we're friends," she said, daring to lean a bit into his hand, still on the small of her back.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

"Look at TwiddlyDee and TwiddlyDum, all cuddling together. Isn't that sweet? But , this won't get you votes, as you can't sing, right?" Cato barged in between Peeta and Katniss, his sparkling silver shirt opened, his skin glistening golden, a strong smell of bad quality perfume overflowing Katniss's nose.

"You stink, Pepe le Pew. Oh, and you stole Silver Barbie's shirt?" Katniss was the first to address the blonde man.

"Well, what can I say, she recognizes talent…" Cato answered, winking at her.

"All that glitter isn't gold, you know what they say. Katniss? It's a bit too stinky in here, do you mind if we change atmosphere? I could use a reprieve from all that cheap cologne."

Katniss nodded passing in front of Cato without looking at him at all, finding comfort in the hand Peeta put right back on its dedicated place. They moved towards the opposite wall of the room, letting Cato go back to his fling of the day, avoiding the pirates threatening to attack them with their fake plastic sabers, or the women looking for their space blankets everywhere.

"This is a crazy crowd …" Katniss whispered, as she watched the Legolas Like man talking with the Vampire man from another district before she added "And here is the queen of them all."

"Excuse me, I really need to pass, please! Oh, good, Lavinia! Tell your howlers to let me go through please!" Effie was trying to walk towards Katniss and Peeta on unbelievably high, pink sparkling heels, matching suit and a giant butterfly in her perfectly coiffed hair.

"Here you are, darlings. Now, you let me go, young man!" Effie told a young guy that was sitting, his legs sprawled in front of him in a comfortable-looking seat. "Manners! I tell you!"

She finally arrived in front of Katniss and Peeta, brushing nonexistent dust out of the jacket of her suit, adjusting her butterfly, before looking up.

"I'm so glad you two can behave and act normally, not like these punk goths kids. They have no manners or respect!" she sighed. "Well, the show is about to begin, I wanted to tell you good luck! May the odds be ever in your favor, darlings!"

Effie air-kissed Katniss and Peeta, before making her exit, all the while still pestering at the youth lacking manners.

Katniss heard Peeta chuckled as he watched their chaperon walk away, waving at some other District escorts on her way out.

"She's something else…" Katniss whispered, being cut by the apparition of both hosts in the room. They were elegant, classy and smiling as they gave their pre-show speech.

"So once you're done, you go to the green room directly, right? No jumping around somewhere else, okay?" Mans's eyes were set on the young Laura who had the decency to look ashamed while leaning into Cato's arms.

"Right, so everyone has their number? Michal? It's up to you first! Let's go and have a great show, everybody!"

The vampire lookalike left the room with the host, under a thunder of applause and shouts of "Good luck" from almost every person.

Katniss could feel the strand of fear starting to take over, and felt her confidence fading away with every minute, every contestant leaving the room. She hadn't forgotten the horrendous rehearsal, her voice breaking, hinting at an inevitable defeat.

"We're going to lose, you know that? I'm sorry you'll finish your career on such a bad note…" she told him, as the pirates were leaving the room, shouting "ahoy" to the remaining contestants.

"It's our turn after them, and we are going to sing, and perform like we're the only two persons on this stage. Okay?" Peeta whispered, his hand on Katniss's back, tracing the now familiar circles, calming her.

"District 12? Please follow me." An assistant was waiting for them at the door, to show them towards the stage, where they could already hear the crowd cheering as the number before the pirates was finishing their song.

"Here, your mics. You know how to use them, right?"

The applause and shouts went mad as the Pirates of the Seas took the stage. Katniss could feel the stage fright climbing up her spine, threatening to paralyze her completely. She couldn't move anymore, couldn't speak, little lights bursting in front of her eyes, and she could feel her strength slowly abandoning her, drained by the cries of the thousands people in The Snow Center.

She barely felt hands on her face, like the echo of a presence, trying to bring her back from this state she had locked herself in, a place where everything was black and away, far away from the stage, the noise, the madness of Districtvision.

Until she felt them. Lips on her own, smooth and warm, tender and strong, a beacon of blue light in the dark of her mind, a lifeline to bring her back. She felt her own lips moving, as her body was dragged back into the here and now, until her mind found a calm, a serenity she never knew she would crave.

She felt Peeta's hands still on her cheeks, his thumbs tracing a pattern, his eyes full of concern and fear, as he asked, "Stay with me?"

She heard her heart whisper her answer, "Always."

"It's only you and me singing, Katniss. Do not look at them if you don't want to. I'll have your back okay?"

"You have to go take your place, Sir." Another assistant chimed into their little cocoon, putting her hand on Peeta's arm insistently, urging him to go take his starting position, on the other side of the large stage.

He gave her a last glance, nodding slightly before disappearing in the mess of people, curtains, power cables, fans, noises, and she looked on the other side, until she saw him appear between the black curtains, obviously looking for her too.

Through the space , through pirates running around and fire on the scene, through the noise Katniss saw Peeta mouth a word, that she echoed.

"Together."

Katniss was glad she wasn't the first to go on stage, to start the song. he hardest part was left to Peeta.

Applause started, to congratulate the Pirates, or to show them how glad the crowd was they were done, she wouldn't never know. She kept her eyes on her partner as he readied himself, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, relaxing his arms and hopping a few times, before he searched for her, as if for strength.

As the first notes of the sax started to break the noise, Katniss saw Peeta nodding before taking the first step on stage. She tried to relax, knowing she only had a few seconds before it was her turn to jump into the arena.

I feel so unsure

As I take your hand

And lead you to the dance floor

Deep breath. Chins up.

She started.

As the music dies

Something in your eyes

Calls to mind a silver screen

And all its sad goodbyes

Her voice came out strong and rich, so different from the day before. The fear was still there, but somehow, she was able to put it aside, locked in a place where it couldn't hurt her. She walked onto the stage, her eyes locked on Peeta's as she wamovedlked to join him in the middle.

The words that were stuck in her throat yesterday were glowing, the pain of the song an echo of her life, her fears, the sadness in the words a match to her own.

With each verse, they made a step forward to each other.

Gone were the original dancer of the first song, bouncing and smiling.

The stage was theirs, and theirs only.

They were alone.

Just the two of them.

Singing.

Until the music died, somewhere in the background.

Or around them, Katniss didn't know.

She was closer to Peeta than at the beginning of the song, only for a few feet - on a common unspoken agreement, they had chosen to remain parted, as the lyrics of the song weren't exactly joyful.

The crowd erupted in applause, cheers and screams that brought Katniss back to the here and there, to their place in the Districtvision contest, on the stage of The Snow Center, with cameras fixed on them.

She felt Peeta's hand on her arm, leading her away from the scene - they had a couple of seconds to leave, during the presentation of the next district - to join the Green Room and wait for the rest of the contestants to get through the show.

Effie and Haymitch waited at their booth, clapping loudly with smiles on their faces, until the cameras changed the focus to the band of howlers on stage, apparently on a mission to destroy the ears of the crowd.

"Well, that was acceptable." Haymitch told Katniss and Peeta as they sat themselves on the plush couch.

"Haymitch! Stop being so grumpy!" Effie said, before turning to the duo. "This was beautiful, darlings. And I was right to stick with Cinna's designs, really, you looked gorgeous, Katniss, and you Peeta, the handsome man that you are!"

"It's a ballad Effulgia! A Ballad! Nobody wins Districtvision with a ballad!"

"There has to be a first to everything, old man! Now, we celebrate!"

Katniss was fighting the laughter that wanted to escape her mouth, both at the insinuation that it had been Effie's idea to keep the costumes - and well, at Effulgia.

She always thought Effie was a nickname from an old version of Elizabeth - Effulgia was too much.

"Well, this is unbelievable, this is just sparkling water! The standards of this contest have gone down drastically! In my years…."

"In your years, there was one cameraman and seven contestants, sweetheart!" Haymitch grumbled from his position on the couch, his right hand looking through his inside pocket to retrieve the flask that was hidden there.

Katniss finally failed at hiding her laughter at the banter between the two escorts, letting the sound fall from her lips, freeing her from so many things that she had kept inside during the last hour, or the last weeks, maybe the last years.

She laughed, letting the benefits of the sound sooth her heart, sooth her soul, sooth her.

She laughed at the eccentricity of Effie, at the Pirates asking for rum, at Laura dry humping Cato in the lobby; she laughed at their bodyguards a few nights ago, joking with them on the ride to the port; she laughed at the craziness of Districtvision, with its kitsch etched all around the city, the district; she laughed at her district, at the mess they did to push them onto stage; she laughed at her family, at Prim playing with her dumb cat, or at her mother dancing to the music in her head.

And she laughed at herself, at the choices she had made, the bad ones as well as the good ones, the cries and the shouts, the songs and the tears, her father's laugh.

She laughed until her eyes were dried from crying, until her ribs hurt, until her heart could bear the world, again.

"You okay, Katniss?" Peeta's concerned voice brought her back to the reality of the moment, to the place they were all sitting together. She saw the looks on Haymitch and Effie's faces were mirroring Peeta's expression of worry.

"What happened?" she asked, her face hurting.

"You started laughing and we couldn't stop you." Peeta's hand on her arm was drawing a pattern, an intricate design that felt … intimate. "Guess you needed to laugh?"

"I guess so…" she answered, vaguely. "How many still have to pass?"

"Three. Then the interval act, the results, and we can pack and head home."

"Then we can go home…"

"Yeah…" Peeta whispered, his hands still lingering on her arm, the lights dimming as one of the remaining contestants took his starting place on the stage.

"We did it, right?" Katniss whispered back.

"We did. We can even win, you know?" Peeta said.

"You won't win, you sang a ballad!" Haymitch chided in.

"But it was a lovely ballad and so well sung, not like these idiots who howled at the moon!" Effie added, waving her hands at the other contestants all around them. "I'm sure you will get more points than last year!"

"We only scored 6 points last year, even Haymitch singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star would do better!"

Peeta added, smirking, his hand still soothing Katniss's skin, in a slow movement.

"Har, har, I will let you know I scored 274 points in my day, not my-" Haymitch tried to defend his performance

"Yeah, not your fault it was a tie and you lost because District 4 had 12 more points than you. We know" Peeta smiled.

Katniss watched as her partner and mentor bantered together. She felt a genuine smile starting to grace her lips, a warmth mirroring what his touch was doing to her skin. She started to realize she had spent the last week having him touch her in a lot of little ways - his hand on the small of her back, or helping her out of the car, even when she couldn't feel him - a nod, a wink, a shared smile.

Yes, they were friends she realized, but was there more? She knew now that he had deeper feelings for her, their conversation the night before had made that clear, the way he talked to her, his drawing - that she wouldn't admit having in her purse and staring at for long minutes - and the kiss.

It dawned on her suddenly - he had kissed her earlier tonight, just before they went on stage - when fear had been taking her away, taking her all in, when this fear threatened to eat all of her. He had been the one to bring her back, the steady force she needed to get out of the embrace of panic.

A kiss - could she call that a kiss? And more importantly, would he call that a kiss?

The lights went down again, and Katniss turned to look at the candidate that had just finished his number.

"Peeta, he's still naked!" she almost screamed, as she watched the contestant move from the scene to the green room, his private parts barely covered by his hands, the rest of his body nakedas the day he was born.

And as he passed in front of them, Legolas looked straight at Katniss, and winked at her before slowly taking his hand off his penis.

She felt the blush creeping up her cheeks, as she turned to hide the view she was granted, her head finding the soft fabric of Peeta's shirt, into which she leaned.

She felt more than heard Peeta's chuckle as his hand went to her back, the rumble of his chest under her cheek, the comfort of the muscles under the fabric, and his scent, again.

"It's okay, you can look, he's gone" Peeta finally whispered in her ear. She nodded, before tentatively pulling away and risking a look, assessing that her line of sight was clear of any penises swinging in front of her.

"These people are crazy! How can they go naked? Naked! In front of thousands of people!"

"Make it millions, darling. And well, it was quite a sight!" Effie replied, not even looking up from her phone. "Just one left! And then don't forget to smile for the camera and look happy. I'm talking about you, Katniss!"

The last candidate to take the stage was as normal as a Districtvision candidate could be, dressed in black leather with heavy white and black makeup covering his face singing in a language Katniss couldn't understand. Soon the contest would be over, soon they could head home.

Attendants started to pour sparkling wine into glasses, distributing them onto the tables, along with small flags for the districts.

Soon the last singer finished his number, under the applause of the crowds, and the focus changed to the hosts, listing the call numbers for the different districts to vote. Katniss looked at the choreography of the cameras, moving smoothly from one end of the stage to the other, until she spotted someone strange on the other side, about to come join Mans and Petra.

"Who is that?" she asked Peeta, pointing to the woman in a beautiful red gown. "A guest?"

Peeta looked at the person, chuckled before turning to Haymitch and Effie.

"Conchita is there!"

"Is she?" Effie asked, turning slightly, before a huge smile came to her face, and she started waving. "She is ! Oh, I hope she comes by, I found a beautiful little shop she would just love!"

"But … but-" Katniss stopped mid phrase, not believing the messages her eyes were sending her brains. "She has a beard? She's a he?" She turned to Peeta who was laughing now, then looked at the man/woman coming onto the stage, on higher heels than Effie, and a glowing bright red dress.

"Who's Conchita?" she didn't dare use a pronoun for fear of saying the wrong one. Even though everything screamed the person was a man, her walk and her attitude was that of a woman.

"It's a man who created this persona - Conchita. He won a couple years back." Peeta had come to her rescue, again, for the uptenth time this week she realized. She was so clueless, Districtvision-wise, berating herself for not preparing better for the event.

"Wow. And he won?" she asked, amazed as Conchita started to talk with the hosts on the stage, her beard shining in the light.

"He's actually a pretty good singer." Peeta leaned into Katniss's ear and whispered "He's going to be the one to award the trophy tonight."

"Good thing we will lose, then. I don't know whether I should shake his hand or kiss his cheeks!" Katniss answered, still watching as Conchita waved the crowd goodbye, heading into the Green Room.

"Peeta, she's coming our way…." Katniss said, as the woman approached their booth.

"Well, of course, Katniss, dear, she's a friend!" Effie rose from the couch,

And Katniss watched in awe, as Conchita came into their booth, air-kissing Effie, and the two engaged in a conversation about shoes and dresses. Until she turned to them.

"I'm sorry, I'm so impolite, but I haven't seen Eff here in months. So you're the famous Everlark everybody's talking about?" Conchita bent over to kiss Peeta on the cheeks, before turning to Katniss and leaning in.

He even smells like a woman, she thought, amazed as the beard grazed her cheeks the feeling so strange and awkward it left her speechless.

"My god, Katniss, you have the smoothest skin! You're a lucky guy, Peeta!" Conchita said, patting the young man's arm as she went sitting between Katniss and Effie. "We don't have long, dear, I have to get out of here before the end of the interval show - and it's a great one, really!" Conchita turned away from Effie to lean into Katniss "And Mans is so sexy - not as sexy as Peeta, of course, but still! Real eye candy, don't you think?" And to Katniss's utter surprise, Conchita winked at her, under eyelashes too heavy with mascara.

The lights dimmed , as a thunder of drums fell on the stage, and Conchita started clapping her hands, excitedly whispering "You will see, it's awesome!"

And awesome it was. The hosts succeeded in making their song - about the ingredients needed to win the Districtvision song contest - memorable, bringing in old victors, or outstanding contestants like the fake piano burner or the hamster wheel, all the while singing and dancing.

Katniss couldn't help but laugh, hearing the title of the song was what Peeta had suggested, a mere days ago. Love, love, peace peace.

"Okay - they deserve first place, hands down." Katniss said, as she clapped vigorously. Conchita had been right, the show had been more than great, served by enthusiastic and charming hosts, who could dance, sing, and play for the crowd. "Where can I vote for them?"

"I was wondering the same, honestly, they were great!" Peeta said before whistling enthusiastically, cheering the duo on stage.

"Oh, it's going to be time for the votes! I'd better go! Bye dears, talk to you in a jiffy!"

Conchita walked away, on too high heels, her long hair swinging down her bare back.

"She's something, really." Effie sighed as she watched her friend leaving, a hint of regret for not spending more time together. "Well, well, let's focus on the results, shall we?"

The stage went dramatically black, the only light falling on the two hosts, who started the very laborious task of calling every district participating into the competition (forty six exactly) so they could give points to the district they liked, from one to ten and the heavily-anticipated twelve points for their district's favorite singer.

Unsurprisingly to Katniss, they didn't get any points with the D1 and D2 juries- Cato and Silver Bouncing Laura won the big scores.

Though it changed with D3, who awarded them ten points making them already better than the previous year candidate - who had only scored eight points in all.

Peeta held his hand up, high-fiving Haymitch, before hugging Effie until he turned to Katniss, giving her a small smile.

"What? I don't get a hug?" she asked, a bit disappointed.

The smile that lit up his face would have warmed the entire Snow Center.

She didn't get to have her hug this time, as the districts passed and points were getting higher for them. District 11 was the first to award them with twelve points, the first of a long series. Jury after jury, points piled up, until it was clear they were in the top five, then three, then top two, fighting for first place with D1 and Cato.

Until the very last vote, District 46 whose vote consisted of basically giving points to all the contestants that didn't earn any.

Until the presentator of District 46, a Flavius told the waiting crowd that the remaining twelve points would crown the winner of the 2016 Edition of the Districtvision Song Contest.

He purposefully waited, making the suspense grow until he smiled and said:

"And District 46 is happy to give their twelve points to ….. District 12!"

The crowd went wild.

The stage became a mess.

Contestants jumped over the couch to congratulate Katniss and Peeta, Effie and Haymitch. Large confetti fell from the ceiling in a golden shower in the lights, enveloping everyone.

Katniss and Peeta were brought to the center of the stage where Conchita handed them their trophy, in a whirlwind of flashes, noises, of tears (courtesy of Effie, who kept repeating this was a big, big, big day for District12!), shouts, and interviews until the ride back to the hotel.

Silence fell over the car, Effie had run out of words, Haymitch had had enough to drink, as even Katniss and Peeta wanted to live in this happiness for as long as they could.

They parted ways in the living-room of the en-suite, Haymitch and Effie making every attempt not to show Katniss and Peeta they were heading towards the same room, leaving the duo together in the living room, barely looking at each other, fidgeting like teenagers.

Tomorrow would come soon enough, when they would have to part ways, Katniss to finally start a career she'd been wanting for for years, Peeta to finally end a career he never wanted in the first place.

"So…" Peeta started, raking his hand through his hair "We won."

"We did. I …."

"Never expected it?" Katniss nodded. "Yeah, me neither." she sighed, still trying to process what this win would change for her.

"Guess we have to be back in a year…"

They would have to, at least to perform this year's song. Could this mean Peeta would hang on in the music industry for a bit longer?

"Guess so". She tried to gather the rest of her courage. "Think you can tolerate me for a year?"

His head rose suddenly, his blue eyes falling right into the grey of hers, searching for an answer he must have found as he stepped closer to where she was standing, leaving a good foot between the two of them.

"I'm sure I can tolerate you for more than a year." he whispered, as if speaking the words loud would break the moment they were in, forever.

"What do you mean?" She asked, lowering her voice also, to keep that thing between them alive.

"Whatever you want it to mean" his voice was soft as the wing of a butterfly, flying on a jasmine wind, a temptation, a guilty pleasure that her body screamed ather to indulge in , her mind the sole restriction keeping her from succumbing.

"What do you want, Peeta?" she asked, looking in his eyes, trying to find what he saw in her, what draw him to her, what draw her to him.

Because even if she had refused to look at it in the first place, she had come to realize that when it came to Peeta Mellark, she was like a lost ship, drawn to his light, his hope, his eyes.

In his eyes, she saw the kindness, the trust, the love he had for the world, for the people around, the joy and happiness that radiated of him.

She leaned closer, stopping a breath away from his ear. She whispered, again.

"What do you want Peeta?"

She saw his lips move, trying to catch her breath in between them .

Little did he know she was already in his nets, surrendering to everything that made him Peeta.

Katniss saw the struggle, the restraint slowly fading away from his face, slowly replaced by a joy greaterthan the one he showed when they hugged each other, under the golden shower of the Snow Center.

He leaned in.

She waited.

He tasted her lips, barely touching them with his, barely covering her mouth with his, a shadow of a kiss that only left Katniss wanting more.

As he pulled away, she leaned in, chasing his mouth with hers, eager to discover the ridges and crevices, eager to map his lips, to claim them as hers.

This time, the kiss wasn't an echo of a promise, of a desire, rather the despair of a thirsty man drinking his first glass of water after days in the desert, and Katniss thought it would never end.

Not that she was complaining. She could kiss him for days without tiring, she realized, eagerly chasing his tongue as he opened his mouth to her, letting her discover, taste and enter him.

Until he took control of the kiss, his hands in her hair, taking off the pins carefully placed by whoever had been her hairdresser until her long locks fell free, silk upon silk, down her back.

They kissed until time didn't matter anymore, until the night chased away the remnants of the everlasting day, until the noise in the streets fade away.

They were the victors of the Districtvision song contest.

* * *

This is it. The last chapter of Districtvision. This story really was a crazy idea born from too much glitter watching the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with ombradellaluna, akai-echo, bandathebillie, xerxia31 and titaniasfics. Thank you for the laughs, ladies :)

My very very deep and sincere thanks to akai-echo for her awesomeness, her brilliant mind that created the banner - and the aesthetics that goes so well with the story :)

And what would I do without my beta Extraordinaire, Mrs Titaniasfics, who spends hours correcting my writing to make it into something readable, and who challenges me every time to do better - Thank you so much :)

Without further words, here is part 3 of Districtvision. Hope you will like it :) Thank you for keeping up with me :)

And don't forget to leave a small review/message if you liked it :) thank you :)


	4. One Year Later

_**One year after the end of the Districtvision Song Contest that saw the victory of Peeta and Katniss.**_

 _ **A little bit of fun - Jitterbug, indeed.**_

 _ **Written for bandathebillie's birthday on Tumblr !**_  
 _ **Thank you to the awesome xerxia for her beta skills !**_

 _ **Please let me know what you think of it :)**_

* * *

She heard his laugh as soon as she entered their apartment - rich, in his deep voice, with something childish still, reminding her of their time at school when she would pretend he didn't exist. Try and fail.

She followed the sound until she reached their bedroom, leaning on the doorjamb, taking in the scene in front of her.

On the bed, several bags were lined up, all with "The Green Room" signature on them, a sure sign that Effie had succeeded in her mad project. After getting away from being an escort for the Districtvision Song Contest, she had helped Cinna in the marketing of his and Portia's brand, all the while wanting to create her own touch. The result of which was now spread on the bed, Peeta opening bag after bag and taking the clothes out.

Katniss walked silently, putting her arms around Peeta's waist, a small smile tugging her lips as she felt him jump in surprise as she encircled him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So, what is this debauchery of green?" she asked, curious about the clothes on the bed, all looking like a lurid forest had taken place on the bed.

"It's not green, Katniss darling, it's 'pear', according to Effie…" Peeta answered, mimicking their favorite escort's tone.

"Well, according to me, it's pale green. Why did she send these?"

"I think she's hoping we're going to wear them …. someday?" Peeta shrugged, before digging into the bags again.

"In front of an audience?" Katniss eyes opened with surprise. Effie did not REALLY expect them to wear something like these ever?

"The note she sent…" Peeta rummaged around the clothes displayed in front of them before finding an envelope from which he extracted what looked like an invitation to a wedding. "You want me to read it to you?"

Katniss nodded, preparing herself for the worst. Or even worse than the worst. With Effie, it was always better to be prepared.

"'Dearest Katniss and Peeta - Or should I say, dearest Everlark' and it's followed by at least ten exclamation marks… " Peeta tried to go on without bursting out laughing. "'I had the brightest idea that you should wear the clothes from the Green Room collection, seeing how fitting the name is with the next Districtvision! I'm sure you will find something you love, and if not, I still have tons of clothes just for the both of you! Lovely love, lovebirds! xoxo,' and the signature is Effie-esque … lots of flourish thingies. I'm pretty sure she perfumed it too". He handed her the letter, on which Katniss recognized Effie's trademark signature. Then she realized something was all over her fingers.

"And she added glitter too… I don't know what her parents fed her when she was a kid, really. How can someone live for glitter ?"

She tried to get rid of the sparkling thingies stuck to her fingers before looking at the clothes that covered the whole quilt her mom had made for them, as a housewarming present when she and Peeta moved in together.

"What did she send?" Katniss asked, as she started to sort the feminine ones in categories (too short, too revealing, too colorful). "Peeta?" she asked, as she saw her boyfriend hiding one of the packages away. "What's in the bag?"

She saw the blush appearing on his cheeks before he answered. "You don't want to know, really."

"Peeta….." She was quicker than he was - she knew it, he knew it - but he still tried to keep the bag away from her prying hands. Unsuccessfully.

"So, what did she send?" Katniss looked inside the bag, removing the silken wrapping protecting the clothing and dropping it carelessly on the bed to get a better view of what was underneath. "Oh, she didn't?"

She turned to Peeta, pointing out the bag with one hand.

"She sent them back! Yellow and violet !"

"Lavender and dandelion, Darling" said Peeta with his voice as high as possible.

"And she expects us to wear those for Districtvision?"

"Apparently."

"She knows we're wearing Cinna and Portia's clothes, right?" Katniss added, looking at the two garment bags hanging from the large wardrobe. "I'm not wearing these …. what are they? Panties? She can't call them shorts, right?"

Peeta laughed. "It's Effie! In her mind maybe they are completely fashionable and irresistible pants, you know?" he said, taking another bag, from which he extracted only one tee shirt, in a lovely shade of yellow.

"She's frightening." Katniss said, seriously.

"She is. And apparently, there's only one tee shirt," Peeta checked the size before handing it to her "which means she either forgot mine, or wants me to go shirtless. Knowing Effie…."

"She wants you to go shirtless… did you see how she ogled Mans last year?" Katniss could feel her scowl creeping up her cheeks at the thought of Effie wanting to see her boyfriend half naked. "I'm the only one who can see you naked, capisce?"

She walked towards Peeta, grabbing the infamous tee shirt from his extended hand, before rising on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his mouth.

"Give me that, I need to get rid of it." She added, walking away from the bedroom.

After closing the door on Peeta's laughter, she looked at the clothes in her hands, an idea forming in her brains. What if?

She smirked, before heading into the bathroom.

She exited a few minutes later, all dressed in bright yellow, her legs made longer by the tiny shorts Effie thought were appropriate, her upper half tucked into a very form-fitting top. Very see through, too, despite the color of the fabric.

There was no way Katniss would ever wear that on a stage. Never.

But here, in the comfort of their house, hidden away from prying eyes…. She quickly went to the shoe cabinet, put on her pair of (very) high heeled nude sandals before releasing her hair from her usual braid, knowing full well Peeta enjoyed them loose on her shoulders.

She took a deep breath, then opened the door.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw.

The only thought that came to her mind was that lavender wasn't really Peeta's color.

As for the rest … on the other side of the door, Peeta had had the same idea, dressing up in the tiny lavender booty shorts he must have found in one of the bags.

Katniss looked at him, never tiring of his broad shoulders, muscular but not too muscular, his defined arms on which she could spend hours tracing the veins and sinews knowing full well what it did to him.

But today, her mouth watered at the sight of the lavender shorts, hugging his ass like a second skin, with the added bonus of sparkles. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she was startled by what she saw inside. Hunger. Desire. Fever.

So raw it made her shiver, made goosebumps rise on her arms, made her lick her lips - which never failed to make Peeta do the same, as a prelude of what they both knew was coming.

Katniss walked inside the bedroom, swaying her hips exaggeratedly, focused on Peeta's eyes turning a darker shade. She stopped a mere foot from him.

"One thing can be said about Effie, though - she has an eye for the right size," she said, as she lifted her hand, starting to trace the lines of muscle on Peeta's chest with her index finger.

She could feel him clenching as she let her finger wander up the line of his pecs, onto his shoulder. Then she moved around him, still tracing every ridge and plane she could find with her finger.

His back always fascinated her. She could spend hours watching the play of muscles under his fair skin, the motion of the freckles on his shoulders, the line of his spine until it reached the hem of his boxers - she was mesmerized.

Every time she saw him naked she was amazed by his body - but today, this was something else.

She now understood why Effie wanted him to wear these pink shorts.

Katniss could feel the now familiar hunger for him building up in her belly. And if she could guess, it would make every woman watching them hunger for him. Vote for him.

"She's good, yeah." He answered, turning to face her again. "But you could wear a size down…."

Katniss stopped, looking at the blouse she was wearing, straightening the material on her chest.

On purpose.

Knowing his eyes would be riveted on her chest.

"You think so?" she asked playfully, her finger starting a new route, from her chin to her sternum. "Wouldn't it be too tight in a size down?" she could play the shy ingenue when she wanted.

She loved foreplay.

"Or maybe, I should just …" She didn't finish, her hands fishing for the hem of the shirt before she just took it off.

"Oh god, Kat…" were the only words she heard before Peeta's mouth was on hers, hot, needy, sweet and warm.

His hands were everywhere too - she could feel them on her waist, grazing the side of her now bare breast - she might have forgotten to put a bra on - in her hair, on the curve of her back, on her thighs - everywhere but where she wanted them.

Chest to chest, skin on skin, glittery shorts to glittery shorts, moans answering to whimpers, hands discarding clothing in practiced movement, until there wasn't any barrier between them.

With a perfect move born of years and years of wrestling, Peeta had them on the bed, in the middle of the Green Room clothing bags, but Katniss couldn't find it in herself to care even the slightest. And from the look in Peeta's eyes, she could see he didn't either.

The gentleman in him, though was never too far, and he pushed the bags away from Katniss, laying her on her back, her black hair crowning her like a halo, a contrast to the clear grey of her eyes shining in the light of the day.

"You are so beautiful…." Peeta whispered, taking his time to look at every part of her. She could feel his eyes lingering on the curve of her neck where the slender and supple olive skin met the pulsing veins, just under the surface, or the valley between her breasts, heaving under her quick breaths, the muscles of her belly, her legs, long for days in those damn heels that she knew were his undoing each time she wore them.

But it was her arms as they moved above her head, stretching her whole body that mesmerized him the most and she realized how such a simple gesture was a gift, for him only. She offered herself to him only - the soft curves and smooth skin were only his to discover, only for his hands or his lips to get lost in, only for his ears were the moans and whimpers that came out of her lips, only he could discover the pleasure of being inside of her.

Because she had decided to give him all of herself.

To open herself under the blue of Peeta's eyes, to let his hands wander the territory that was his, to let his lips discover the taste of her skin, to feel him inside of her, shattering her world over and over, as she exploded in waves of pleasure.

Jitterbug, indeed.


End file.
